Konstantin Korovin

Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin (November 23 (December 5), 1861, Moscow - September 11, 1939, Paris) - Russian painter, theater artist, teacher and writer. Academician of painting (since 1905). Chief decorator and artist of Moscow theaters (since 1910).

Born in Moscow in Durny per. near Taganskaya sq. He came from a wealthy merchant family.

After the bankruptcy of his father, in adolescence he moved to Bolshie Mytishchi, where he first met with drawing.

At the age of thirteen, Konstantin entered the architectural department of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, a year later he moved to the painting department. He studied with Alexei Savrasov, Vasily Polenov and Vasily Perov.

To complete his education, Korovin went to St. Petersburg and entered the Academy of Arts, but left after three months, disillusioned with the teaching methods.

Korovin, together with his friend, artist Valentin Serov, twice (1894 and 1897) traveled to the North, visiting Murman, northern Norway, and Swedish Lapland. The trip resulted in the landscapes Harbor in Norway (1894, State Tretyakov Gallery), St. Tryphon's Stream in Pechenga. Lapland” (1894, State Tretyakov Gallery), “Hammerfest. Northern Lights”, “Murmansk Coast” (1894, State Tretyakov Gallery), “Arkhangelsk Port on the Dvina” (1894,

He visited Paris in 1887, 1892 and 1893, where he became acquainted with impressionism.

Korovin's house in the village of Okhotino, Pereslavl district

In 1896, Konstantin Korovin designed the Far North pavilion, built according to his design at a fair in Nizhny Novgorod.

Participated in the design of the Russian exposition at the World Exhibition in Paris (1900), where he acted as an architect (he designed the building of the Handicraft Department) and as the author of the exposition he made 31 decorative panels (stored in the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). He was awarded two gold and seven silver medals of the exhibition and the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Paris occupied a significant place in Korovin's work. Urban landscapes are heavily influenced by the French Impressionists. He masterfully managed to convey the life of the French capital during the hours of morning awakening, but most of all in the evening, in the glow of lights on the streets and boulevards (“Paris. Capuchin Boulevard”, 1902, 1906 and 1911; “Paris in the Morning”, 1906. All - State Tretyakov Gallery).

In Paris, Korovin became interested in symbolism and, returning to Russia, attended lectures by the esthete artist Modest Durnov, and talked with the poet Konstantin Balmont. During these years, he painted the paintings "Northern Idyll" (1892, State Tretyakov Gallery) and "Muse" (1890s, State Tretyakov Gallery).

During World War I, Konstantin Korovin worked as a camouflage consultant for the Russian army headquarters.

For decades, Korovin participated in exhibitions of artists of various trends and associations - the Wanderers, the "World of Art", "Union 36", the Union of Russian Artists.

Since 1901, Konstantin Korovin and Valentin Serov taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Among his students were later famous artists: A. M. Gerasimov, N. P. Krymov, A. V. Kuprin, I. I. Mashkov, S. G. Nikiforov, M. S. Saryan, L. V. Turzhansky, R. R. Falk, stage designer Sergei Nikolaev, future teacher, writer and local historian Sergei Volkov.

In 1922, on the advice of Anatoly Lunacharsky, the artist went abroad and settled in France.

He died suddenly on one of the streets of Paris from a heart attack on September 11, 1939; buried at Biyankursky cemetery. In March 1950, with funds raised by Russian Parisians, the remains of Korovin and his wife were transferred to the Orthodox cemetery in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.

A large number of the artist's works are kept in the Russian Museum.