Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin was a famous Russian painter, whose art became a vivid phenomenon in the Russian culture of the late 19th — early 20th century. The artist was born in Moscow on December 5, 1861 in a wealthy merchant family. From the age of 13, he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, then entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, but very quickly dropped out.
Among the teachers of the future master were famous Russian artists. Alexey Kondratievich Savrasov, Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov, and Vasily Grigoryevich Perov helped Konstantin Korovin in developing his skills. However, Konstantin Alexeevich found his unique painting style on his own, thanks to his talent and creative searches. Korovin developed the desire to convey fleeting sensations and subtle play of light and color much earlier than he visited Paris and got acquainted with the work of the Impressionists.
The artist’s legacy is represented in a wide variety of genres: landscapes, portraits, still lifes. Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin worked a lot for the theater, made scenic design for dramatic, opera and ballet performances at the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theaters, for productions of Sergey Pavlovich Diaghilev’s “Russian Seasons” abroad, where he became famous for a new approach to decorative design.
Korovin met Diaghilev before the “Russian Seasons” were created, in 1898. Back then, Sergey Pavlovich took an active part in the publication of the magazine “World of Art.” Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin designed a number of covers for the issues of 1898–1899. The artist began to take part in exhibitions of the World of Art association. A distinctive feature of the artists of this group was their versatility: they were engaged in painting, design of theatrical productions, decorative and applied arts, and book illustration.
