 He finished his studies in 1869 and the following year became one of the founding members of the Association of Travelling Art Exhibitions, where his many years of prolific work brought him to a leading position

Makovsky's work was defined by a perpetual humor as well as blatant irony and scorn.During the seventies his paintings dealt primarily with small-town folk.His pictures, "The Grape-juice Seller" (1879), "Fruit-Preserving" (1876) and "The Congratulator" (1878) depict various scenes where the mood is finely conceived and almost laughter-inducing.