Konstantin Korovin

Konstantin Korovin was born in Moscow to a wealthy merchant family of Old Believers. His father was more interested in arts and music than in the family business. His older brother Sergei was also a painter. Konstantin studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he learned from Vasily Perov and Alexei Savrasov. He also studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg for a year, but returned to Moscow dissatisfied. He was influenced by his teacher Vasily Polenov, who introduced him to Savva Mamontov's Abramtsevo Circle, a group of artists who explored Russian themes and folk art. Korovin traveled to Paris and Spain with Mamontov, where he discovered the works of the French Impressionists. He was impressed by their use of light and color, and he adopted their style in his own paintings. He also worked as a theatre artist, designing sets and costumes for Mamontov's opera house and later for the Bolshoi Theatre and the Mariinsky Theatre. He painted scenes from various countries and cultures, such as Norway, North Africa, India, and Japan. He also painted portraits of his friends and famous people, such as Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, and Fyodor Chaliapin. He became a member of the Mir iskusstva (World of Art) movement, which promoted individualism and aestheticism in art. He was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government in 1900. After the October Revolution of 1917, Korovin's life became difficult. He lost his income and his property, and he suffered from eye problems that affected his vision. He was invited to teach at the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops, but he found the new Soviet art policies restrictive and oppressive. He decided to leave Russia in 1923, and settled in Paris, where he continued to paint and exhibit his works. He also visited the United States, where he painted a series of portraits of Hollywood stars. He died in 1939 in Paris and was buried at the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery. His works are widely admired for their vibrant and expressive use of color and light, and they are displayed in many museums, such as the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, and the Pushkin Museum.