The canvas Sunset. The Sacred Rite of Spring from the collection of the Khanty-Mansiysk State Museum of Fine Arts was done by the Russian impressionist painter, Konstantin Korovin, in the beginning of the 20th century. In its plot and composition, Sunset. The Sacred Rite of Spring is reminiscent of another well-known work by Korovin, his 1886 painting Northern Idyll, and although Sunset’s manner of painting is later, experts have failed to establish the exact date. Clearly, judging by Korovin’s manner of painting, the work could not have been executed before the 1900s or later than 1914 since that year the painting was on display at the exhibition of the Union of Russian Artists.
Sunset. The Sacred Rite of Spring is a multi-figure composition presented in a manner of study. Broad, pastose brush strokes make for additional volume and saturation of the images. Korovin’s art is textured and sculptured.
The painter depicted four girls in the rays of the setting sun who gathered together on a meadow scattered with white flowers. The work’s composition is based on the combination of contrasting colours. The paints are literally saturated with vibrant colours: the girls’ clothes done in broad strokes are dominated by bright green, blue-green and red-yellow hues.
In the foreground to the left, Korovin painted a young girl dressed in a dark blue pinafore dress, a red shirt and a head band. She is the only character with her face features detailed. Another girl dressed in a yellow-green pinafore dress and wearing a crown of yellow flowers is sitting at the centre, resting on her left arm. Her face shows no distinct features but a blush. To the right of the painting Korovin depicted, schematically, two more girls, full length, wearing folk headdresses and costumes. They are facing each other, and their figures and features are very generalized. The scholars believe the four girls are the four allegories of the seasons – Summer, Spring, Winter and Autumn. The artist’s signature is in the right corner: Korovin Kon.
Konstantin Korovin presented the work Dawn. The Sacred Rite of Spring to Igor Stravinsky who composed his famous Rites of Spring for Sergey Dyaghilev’s the Ballets Russes. In 1998, the painting was acquired by the Generations Foundation and in 2011 transferred to the Khanty-Mansiysk State Museum of Fine Arts.
Sunset. The Sacred Rite of Spring is a multi-figure composition presented in a manner of study. Broad, pastose brush strokes make for additional volume and saturation of the images. Korovin’s art is textured and sculptured.
The painter depicted four girls in the rays of the setting sun who gathered together on a meadow scattered with white flowers. The work’s composition is based on the combination of contrasting colours. The paints are literally saturated with vibrant colours: the girls’ clothes done in broad strokes are dominated by bright green, blue-green and red-yellow hues.
In the foreground to the left, Korovin painted a young girl dressed in a dark blue pinafore dress, a red shirt and a head band. She is the only character with her face features detailed. Another girl dressed in a yellow-green pinafore dress and wearing a crown of yellow flowers is sitting at the centre, resting on her left arm. Her face shows no distinct features but a blush. To the right of the painting Korovin depicted, schematically, two more girls, full length, wearing folk headdresses and costumes. They are facing each other, and their figures and features are very generalized. The scholars believe the four girls are the four allegories of the seasons – Summer, Spring, Winter and Autumn. The artist’s signature is in the right corner: Korovin Kon.
Konstantin Korovin presented the work Dawn. The Sacred Rite of Spring to Igor Stravinsky who composed his famous Rites of Spring for Sergey Dyaghilev’s the Ballets Russes. In 1998, the painting was acquired by the Generations Foundation and in 2011 transferred to the Khanty-Mansiysk State Museum of Fine Arts.
