What is happening in Konstantin Makovsky’s ‘Kissing Rite’ painting?

Based on a historical novel

The painting has a subtitle – “Feast at Boyar Morozov’s”. The artist captured a fragment from Alexei Tolstoy’s novel ‘Prince Serebryany’, where the young wife of a house owner comes out to greet guests in festive clothes for the kissing ceremony.

According to the plot, boyar Druzhina Morozov, having overheard a conversation between his young wife Elena and a stranger, learns that she is in love with another. In order to figure out his rival, he decides to arrange a ‘kissing rite’ during the feast, hoping that Elena will reveal her true feelings. And she really does lose consciousness while kissing Prince Nikita Serebryany…

An ancient rite

It is believed that the ‘kissing rite’ arose in the 17th century, but has Byzantine or pagan origins. Women at that time led very secluded lives and rarely showed themselves in public. A host could ask his wife to go out to greet the guests during a feast. Having bowed, the head of the house would ask them to kiss his wife on both cheeks, after which, she, having sipped her glass, would bow and offer wine to each of them. Then, the wife would go to the women's half of the house. Later, the same rite could be performed by the wives of the sons of the host of the house, his married daughters or the wives of relatives. Unmarried girls, however, did not participate in the kissing ceremony.

This rite would only take place when the host wanted to show special respect to his guests and when he was specifically asked to do so. Women wore rich outfits for the ‘kissing rite’ and could change them during the ceremony.

Russian luxury

Konstantin Makovsky was a master of the historical genre – his paintings in the boyar style were highly valued in Russia and abroad. He was also a passionate collector: he collected antiques, many of which he used as props while working on his paintings, including various chests and costumes.

Makovsky painted ‘The Kissing Rite’ in his Paris studio in 1895; a year later, he presented it at the All-Russian exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod and, in 1897, at his large exhibition in St. Petersburg. From there, the painting finally ended up at the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III, where it remains today.