- 57
Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin
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Description
- Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin
- Korovin's Studio, Gurzuf, Crimea
- signed, inscribed in Cyrillic and dated 1914 (lower left)
- oil on canvas
- 46 by 34 1/8 in.
- 116.8 by 87.4 cm
Provenance
Fedor Chaliapin collection
Chaliapin Family, New York (thence by descent from the above)
Zorin collection (acquired directly from the above circa 1974)
Private collection (acquired directly from the above)
Catalogue Note
The present work was originally acquired by the great Russian bass Fedor Ivanovich Chaliapin, a singer and actor whose great declamation and resonance made him a giant among singers at the turn of the century. Combining singing and acting, Chaliapin strove to find the ideal vocal expression for his characters. He met Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin in the mid 1890s at which time both artists worked for Savva Mamontov’s Private Opera House in Moscow. Korovin and Chaliapin quickly became good friends, sharing a great passion for the theatre, a love of art, and a relentless joie du vivre. By the end of the decade they continued their collaboration at the Bolshoi Theatre. Korovin’s respectful portraits of Chaliapin convey great insights into the singer’s character. Chaliapin often visited Korovin at his home in Ohotino, where they spent their time enjoying one another’s company amid nature. Paintings by Korovin that come to auction from Chaliapin's collection are particularly coveted for their illustrious history; this particular lot, however, offers a combination of priceless provenance, superlative quality and one of Korovin's most lyrical and personal works from his Crimean period.
In 1874, Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where he studied under the landscape painters Aleksey Savrasov and Vasily Polenov. Korovin joined the Abramtsevo colony, where he began to design stage décor, and starting in 1910, he became a consultant to the imperial theaters of Moscow. While there, he worked on a series of lavish artistic productions from “Macbeth” at the Marinski Theater to the opera “The Tale of Tsar Sultan” at the Bolshoi.
Heavily influenced by French Impressionism, Korovin’s fascination with set design and plein-air landscape is evident in the important painting Korovin’s Studio. Korovin’s innovations in set design consisted of his deviation from traditional décor toward the creation of a mise-en-scène that would greatly contribute to the emotional power of the production. “Colours can be a celebration for the eyes, and your eyes speak to your soul of joy and delight,” he wrote. “Colours, chords of colours and forms—that is what I was trying to achieve in my stage-sets for the ballet and opera.”
Korovin often worked in Gurzuf, Crimea, where every summer from 1910-1917, he retreated to the family dacha, which he affectionately called ``Salambo,'' after Alexander Gorsky's eponymous ballet. Korovin's Gurzuf retreat attracted some of the most distinguished luminaries of the day, including Ilya Repin, Vasili Surikov, Maxim Gorky and Fedor Chaliapin, who acquired the present Crimean view for his own collection. While in Gurzuf, Korovin boldly experimented with perspective and the depiction of light on surfaces, so pervasive on the Black Sea coast (figs. 1 and 2).
In the present painting, executed during Korovin's 1914 Crimean sojourn, the same year as the onset of the Great War, the striking use of color, tilted perspective and the placement of objects enhance the dramatic energy of the composition. Flickering candles and lanterns, the nonchalant garment on the chair, books splayed open, and the distant image of a sailboat all attest to the presence of humanity within the still life. This space is Korovin's, his presence made palpable through absence, one can almost picture the artist at work just outside the perimeter of the room. This work signifies an artist at the height of his powers. Two years later, Korovin pondered, ``I think that after the war, art will rise once more and will be needed by humanity as a symbol of better sensibilities and joy'' (Konstantin Korovin, as quoted in Mikhail Kiselev, Konstantin Korovin, p. 41).
R.I. Vlasova illustrates a slightly smaller variation on the Crimean dacha balcony scene where Korovin's wife is seated in the same green chair as seen in the present lot (R.I. Vlasova, Konstantin Korovin: Tvorchestvo, Lenigrad, 1970, p. 122, illustrated). In a further variation on the theme, (see fig. 3), the artist places himself inside his studio, an actor taking his cue upon the stage.
In 1874, Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where he studied under the landscape painters Aleksey Savrasov and Vasily Polenov. Korovin joined the Abramtsevo colony, where he began to design stage décor, and starting in 1910, he became a consultant to the imperial theaters of Moscow. While there, he worked on a series of lavish artistic productions from “Macbeth” at the Marinski Theater to the opera “The Tale of Tsar Sultan” at the Bolshoi.
Heavily influenced by French Impressionism, Korovin’s fascination with set design and plein-air landscape is evident in the important painting Korovin’s Studio. Korovin’s innovations in set design consisted of his deviation from traditional décor toward the creation of a mise-en-scène that would greatly contribute to the emotional power of the production. “Colours can be a celebration for the eyes, and your eyes speak to your soul of joy and delight,” he wrote. “Colours, chords of colours and forms—that is what I was trying to achieve in my stage-sets for the ballet and opera.”
Korovin often worked in Gurzuf, Crimea, where every summer from 1910-1917, he retreated to the family dacha, which he affectionately called ``Salambo,'' after Alexander Gorsky's eponymous ballet. Korovin's Gurzuf retreat attracted some of the most distinguished luminaries of the day, including Ilya Repin, Vasili Surikov, Maxim Gorky and Fedor Chaliapin, who acquired the present Crimean view for his own collection. While in Gurzuf, Korovin boldly experimented with perspective and the depiction of light on surfaces, so pervasive on the Black Sea coast (figs. 1 and 2).
In the present painting, executed during Korovin's 1914 Crimean sojourn, the same year as the onset of the Great War, the striking use of color, tilted perspective and the placement of objects enhance the dramatic energy of the composition. Flickering candles and lanterns, the nonchalant garment on the chair, books splayed open, and the distant image of a sailboat all attest to the presence of humanity within the still life. This space is Korovin's, his presence made palpable through absence, one can almost picture the artist at work just outside the perimeter of the room. This work signifies an artist at the height of his powers. Two years later, Korovin pondered, ``I think that after the war, art will rise once more and will be needed by humanity as a symbol of better sensibilities and joy'' (Konstantin Korovin, as quoted in Mikhail Kiselev, Konstantin Korovin, p. 41).
R.I. Vlasova illustrates a slightly smaller variation on the Crimean dacha balcony scene where Korovin's wife is seated in the same green chair as seen in the present lot (R.I. Vlasova, Konstantin Korovin: Tvorchestvo, Lenigrad, 1970, p. 122, illustrated). In a further variation on the theme, (see fig. 3), the artist places himself inside his studio, an actor taking his cue upon the stage.