Konstantin Korovin

Konstantin Korovin was a leading Russian Impressionist painter, artist with a rare gift for color harmonization. His works represent a merger of the classic art tradition with impressionism and art-nouveau. In the best of Korovin's portraits, man and nature merge together, the beauty of each complementing the other. From the start of the twentieth century Korovin focused his attention more and more on the theatre. He designed sets for some of Stanislavsky's drama productions, but his scenery for operas and ballets enjoyed the greatest success. His love of theatrical work left its mark on his painting too. From about 1910 his canvases became more colorful and displayed a broader, freer manner of painting. Konslantin Yuon had this to say about his work: "Korovin's painting is the embodiment in imagery of the artist's happiness and joy of living. All the colors of the world beckoned to him and smiled at him.'"