Konstantin Korovin

(1861–1939)

Educated at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, for a short time he attended courses at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Participant of exhibitions of the World of Art union, the Union of Russian Artists and of other associations. He is considered the main follower of impressionism in Russian painting.

Korovin started designing stage decor at the Savva Mamontov’s Private Opera (1885-91, 1895-99). From 1899, he served as a full-time decorator of the Imperial Theatres and, in 1910-19, he was the chief decorator of the Moscow Imperial Theatres. He collaborated with the enterprises of Serge Diaghilev and Anna Pavlova.

His most famous theatre works include the operas Sadko (together with Sergey Malyutin), Judith (with Valentin Serov), The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (with Apollinary Vasnetsov) and The Golden Cockerel; the ballets The Little Humpbacked Horse, The Sleeping Beauty, Salammbô as well as Swan Lake and Don Quixote – these two together with Alexander Golovin.

In 1923, he went to Paris, where he was mainly engaged in literary work and from 1929 he taught at the Russian Academy of Art.