Youth and education Konstantin was born into a wealthy merchant family of
Old Believers and his mother was from the nobility, although they were officially registered as "peasants" from
Vladimir Gubernia". His father, Aleksey Mikhailovich Korovin, earned a university degree and was more interested in arts and music than in the family business established by Konstantin's grandfather. Konstantin's older brother
Sergei Korovin was a notable
realist painter. Konstantin's relative
Illarion Pryanishnikov was also a prominent painter of the time and a teacher at the
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1875 Korovin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied with
Vasily Perov and
Alexei Savrasov. His brother Sergei was already a student at the school. During their student years, the Korovins became friends with fellow students
Valentin Serov and
Isaac Levitan; Konstantin maintained these friendships throughout his life. In 1881–1882, Korovin spent a year at the
Imperial Academy of Arts in
St. Petersburg, but returned disappointed to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He studied at the school under his new teacher
Vasily Polenov until 1886. In 1885 Korovin traveled to Paris and Spain. "Paris was a shock for me …
Impressionists… in them I found everything I was scolded for back home in Moscow", he later wrote.
Early works Polenov introduced Korovin to
Savva Mamontov's
Abramtsevo Circle:
Viktor Vasnetsov,
Apollinary Vasnetsov,
Ilya Repin,
Mark Antokolsky and others. The group's love for stylized Russian themes is reflected in Korovin's picture
A Northern Idyll. In 1885 Korovin worked for Mamontov's opera house, designing the stage decor for
Giuseppe Verdi's
Aida,
Léo Delibes'
Lakmé and
Georges Bizet's
Carmen. In 1888 Korovin traveled with Mamontov to Italy and Spain, where he produced the painting
On the Balcony, Spanish Women Leonora and Ampara. Konstantin traveled within Russia, the
Caucasus and
Central Asia and exhibited with the
Peredvizhniki. He painted in the Impressionist, and later in the
Art Nouveau, styles. In the 1890s Korovin became a member of the
Mir iskusstva art group. Korovin's subsequent works were strongly influenced by his travels to the north. In 1888 he was captivated by the stern northern landscapes seen in
The Coast of Norway and the Northern Sea. His second trip to the north, with
Valentin Serov in 1894, coincided with the construction of the
Northern Railway. Korovin painted a large number of landscapes:
Norwegian Port, ''
St. Triphon's Brook in Pechenga, Hammerfest: Aurora Borealis, The Coast at
Murmansk and others. The paintings are built on a delicate web of shades of grey. The etude style'' of these works was typical for Korovin's art of the 1890s. Using material from his trip, Korovin designed the Far North pavilion at the
1896 All Russia Exhibition in
Nizhny Novgorod. He painted ten big canvasses for the pavilion as well, depicting various aspects of life in the northern and Arctic regions. After the closure of the Exhibition, the canvasses were eventually placed in the
Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal in Moscow. In the 1960s, they were restored and transferred to the
Tretyakov Gallery. In 1900 Korovin designed the
Central Asia section of the
Russian Empire pavilion at the
Paris World Fair and was awarded the
Legion of Honour by the French government. 's Brook in
Pechenga'', 1894 In the beginning of the 20th century, Korovin focused his attention on the theater. He moved from Mamontov's opera to the
Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petersburg. Departing from traditional stage decor, which only indicated the place of action, Korovin produced a
mood decor conveying the general emotions of the performance. Korovin designed sets for
Konstantin Stanislavsky's dramatic productions, as well as Mariinsky's operas and ballets. He did the stage design for such Mariinsky productions as
Faust (1899),
The Little Humpbacked Horse (1901), and
Sadko (1906) that became famous for their expressiveness. In 1905 Korovin became an
Academician of Painting and in 1909–1913 a professor at the
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. One of the artist's favourite themes was Paris. He painted
A Paris Cafe (1890s),
Cafe de la Paix (1905),
La Place de la Bastille (1906),
Paris at Night,
Le Boulevard Italien (1908),
Night Carnival (1901),
Paris in the Evening (1907), and others. During World War I Korovin worked as a
camouflage consultant at the headquarters of one of the Russian armies and was often seen on the front lines. After the
October Revolution Korovin continued to work in the theater, designing stages for
Richard Wagner's
Die Walküre and
Siegfried, as well as
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's
The Nutcracker (1918–1920). In 1923 Korovin moved to Paris on the advice of Commissar of Education
Anatoly Lunacharsky to cure his heart condition and help his handicapped son. There was supposed to be a large exhibition of Korovin's works, but the works were stolen and Korovin was left penniless. For years, he produced the numerous
Russian Winters and
Paris Boulevards just to make ends meet. In the last years of his life he produced stage designs for many of the major theatres of Europe, America, Asia and Australia, the most famous of which is his scenery for the
Turin Opera House's production of
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's
The Golden Cockerel. Korovin died in Paris on 11 September 1939. He was buried in
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery, in the southern suburbs of Paris. Konstantin's son
Alexey Korovin (1897–1950) was a notable Russian-French painter. Because of an accident during his childhood he had both feet amputated. Alexey committed suicide in 1950. ==Works==