Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin

S.A. Beilitz, Paris
Private Collection (acquired directly from the above in 1955)
Thence by descent

This painting is in wonderful condition. The canvas is unlined. The tacking edges have been reinforced to allow for proper stretching, yet the stretcher seems to be original. The paint layer is clean and very lightly varnished. There appear to be no retouches and the painting is in wonderful condition. If the frame were attended to, the picture could be hung as is. The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

In 1875, Konstantin Korovin entered the architecture department of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, but the following year he transferred to the painting department, where he studied under the famous landscape painter Alexei Savrasov and later under Vasily Polenov, who introduced him to Savva Mamontov's Abramtsevo circle. The Abramtsevo circle's fascination with Russian national motifs is reflected in some of Korovin's early works, especially his stage designs for Mamontov's Private Opera. During these formative years, Korovin became a long-term member of several artistic associations, including the World of Art and the Union of Russian Artists, and he even participated in the Itinerants exhibitions from 1889-1899. He dedicated a serious period of his Russian career to theatrical design, and in 1910 he was named chief designer at the Moscow Imperial Theater. However, from the first time he visited France he was entranced by the atmosphere and culture that he found there, and from 1923 he lived and worked in Paris.

In 1908 Korovin's brother died, and in 1913 his son Alexei (also an artist) was hit by a tram and lost his legs (his first son died in 1888). In spite of these tragic events in his personal life, there is not the slightest hint of sadness  in Korovin's works from this period. In fact, the artist wrote: "Beauty and joy of life. To convey this joy is the main goal of my work."

In fact, around this time Korovin's style underwent a series of changes, and he eagerly embraced some of the pictorial methods of the French Impressionists. Light hues gradually supplanted the ochre and silvery shades that had dominated some of his turn-of-the-century works. Brushstrokes became both more abbreviated and more dynamic and shadows became brighter, as in the present lot. As Korovin described, "Colors can be a celebration for the eyes, and your eyes speak to your soul of joy and delight."

John Rewald observed that the French followers of Impressionism generally sought the "interpretation of the subject for the sake of painterly tone, and not for the sake of the subject itself." This concept was close to that of Korovin, who similarly believed that "tones are far more veracious and sober; they are the content. A subject must therefore be sought for the tone." The artist, art historian, and critic Alexandre Benois wrote of Korovin: "This was our first 'Impressionist'—he was among the first to have dared composing his pictures without any preconceived subject." Benois also described Korovin's style as distinguished by spontaneity and simplicity. With brush and palette in hand he would explore a wealth of texture and colour, and his subjects seem to radiate light themselves. One of Korovin's students remarked that, "his greatest joy was the fascinating process of battling with nature, at the end of which a new, second life, enriched by the artist's poetic feeling, would emerge on the canvas."

By the Window may be counted among Konstantin Korovin's most psychologically fascinating portraits. He completed many decorative interior scenes in his unique Impressionist mode, but in By the Window his brushstroke is exceptionally abstracted and unrestrained, expressive and emotive. The horizontal composition evokes that of one of the artist's greatest masterpieces, his portrait of Fedor Chaliapin, Russia's most famous opera singer. Meanwhile, the imagery calls to mind the poignant scene in Alexander Pushkin's classic novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, when Tatiana writes Onegin a love letter.

Simon Beilitz (1898-1980) was born in Riga, and he began his career at an early age as a dealer of Russian paintings and works of art. In 1920 he emigrated to Paris, where he continued to collect while developing important relationships with various Russian émigré artists, notably Korovin. He purchased paintings and antiques directly from artists, as well as from fellow Russian emigrants and at auction, and his collection came to be known as one of the finest of its kind. Over fifty years time, Beilitz never properly learned French, relying on his wife for almost everything; following her death in the early 1970s, he moved to Israel and took much of his collection with him, though some works were sold at auction and two were presented to the Louvre.

As a dealer, Beilitz is remembered for his discrete and idiosyncratic business practice. Though there was a considerable quantity of Russian art in France following the Russian revolution, the market itself was quite small and counted very few collectors. Beilitz worked from home, where he hung a various assortment of Russian paintings on his walls, and—though everything was for sale—he often refused to part with the works that his clients wanted most. Meanwhile, he was a steadfast researcher, maintaining contacts with Russian art historians and ensuring that works from his collection were properly documented.

The present lot was acquired by its previous owner directly from Beilitz in his Parisian apartment-gallery in 1955.