Russian Museum
Augmented Reality

Annotation

Study for the painting of the same name (1892, State Tretyakov Gallery)
Northern Idyll was inspired, to various degrees, by the staging of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Snow Maiden" at Savva Mamontov's Russian Private Opera and the atmosphere of interesting folklore reigning in the Abramtsevo circle. Korovin seems to have intended Northern Idyll to represent a specific symbol for Russia at the 1893 World Exhibition in Chicago. The study is permeated with a lyrical and musical basis. This is apparent in the modulation of colour, the blending together of people and the natural environment, the lofty detachment of the village girls absorbed by the simple, heartwarming sounds. The harmony and contrast of the colours sharpen the image, colouring its notes with mysterious understatement.

Author's Biography

Korovin Konstantin

Korovin, Konstantin Alexeyevich (1861, Moscow - 1939, Paris)
Painter, theatrical designer, teacher. Studied under Vasily Perov, Alexei Savrasov and Vasily Polenov at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1875-1886) and at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1882). Academician of painting (1905). Member of the Abramtsevo Сircle (from 1885). Member of the World of Art (1900) and founding member of the Union of Russian Artists (1903). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1878). Contributed to the periodical exhibitions of the Moscow Society of Lovers of the Arts (1888-1897) and the exhibitions of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (1889-1899), Moscow Fellowship of Artists (1894-1902), Exhibition of Russian and Finnish Artists (1898), World of Art (1899-1906, 1921, 1922), 36 Artists (1901, 1902), Union of Russian Artists (1903-1923), World Exhibitions in Chicago (1893) and Paris (1900, two gold medals) and the International Exhibitions in Munich (1898), Vienna (1902), Venice (1907) and Rome (1911). Designed for theatres in Moscow and St Petersburg (from 1885). Taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1901-1918), State Free Art Studios (1918-1919) and the Stroganov School (1900s-1910s). Emigrated (1922).