One of many paintings in Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin’s possession bears an unusual name “Musings on Fish and Other Things”. This relatively small oil painting was created by artist Valentin Serov, who wrote its name and dedication to his friend Feodor Chaliapin at the top part of the canvas.

The painting is dated 1907. It is a genre piece set in a rustic log house. It shows two men — one with a thick black beard lying on a bed, legs covered with a fur coat, the other standing at the foot of the bed. The one on the bed is most definitely the artist Konstantin Korovin — a close friend of Chaliapin. But who is this other man, what are they talking about and, finally, why is the painting dedicated to Chaliapin?

To find an answer to these questions, one needs to only open a small book by Konstantin Korovin “Chaliapin. Encounters and Life Together”, the preface for which was written by Chaliapin himself. Therein, Chaliapin shares his memories of meeting the artist for the first time at the tail end of the 19th century and describes him as a man with a striking appearance, piercing eyes and a spectacular beard à la Henry IV. In their youth, Chaliapin, Korovin and Valentin Serov, were deeply passionate about hunting and regularly went on fishing “expeditions”.

Here is what Chaliapin wrote:

The man speaking to Korovin — Vasily Knyazev — was Chaliapin’s friend and assistant. Valentin Serov’s wonderful “Musings on Fish and Other Things”, from way back then, hangs in the living room in the Chaliapin Estate on Novinsky Boulevard in Moscow.