- 407
Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin
Estimate
800,000 - 1,200,000 USD
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Description
- Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin
- Allegorical Scene, 1925
- signed C. Korovine, inscribed Paris and dated 1925 (lower left)
- oil on canvas
- 87 1/2 by 139 1/2 in.
- 222.3 by 354.3 cm
Exhibited
Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery, Collection Basmadjian, July-August, 1988
Leningrad, State Hermitage Museum, Collection Basmadjian, August-September, 1988
Leningrad, State Hermitage Museum, Collection Basmadjian, August-September, 1988
Literature
Collection Basmadjian, Paris: Gallerie Basmadjian, 1988, illustrated
Catalogue Note
In 1874, Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied under the landscape painters Alexei Savrasov and Vasily Polenov. He later met Savva Mamontov and joined the Abramtsevo colony, where he began to design stage décor, and starting in 1910, he became a consultant to the imperial theatres of Moscow. While there, he worked on a series of lavish artistic productions, from Macbeth at the Malinskii Theatre to the opera The Tale of Tsar Sultan at the Bolshoi. He innovatively deviated from traditional décor and created an original mise-en-scène, which contributed greatly to the emotional effect of any given production.
After moving to Paris in 1923, Korovin's fascination with set design remained intact, as exemplified by Allegorical Scene, an impressive composition of epic proportions. Despite the painting's scale, it retains elements of his characteristic style, including close attention to chromatic lyricism. "Colors can be a celebration for the eyes, and your eyes speak to your soul of joy and delight," he once wrote. "Colors, chords of colors and forms--that is what I was trying to achieve in my stage-sets for the ballet and opera."
After moving to Paris in 1923, Korovin's fascination with set design remained intact, as exemplified by Allegorical Scene, an impressive composition of epic proportions. Despite the painting's scale, it retains elements of his characteristic style, including close attention to chromatic lyricism. "Colors can be a celebration for the eyes, and your eyes speak to your soul of joy and delight," he once wrote. "Colors, chords of colors and forms--that is what I was trying to achieve in my stage-sets for the ballet and opera."