Biography
Sergey Korovin was one of the few Russian artists whose modest life with genuine sincerity affected the works unailed by contemporaries. The painter, who dedicated all the time to the ministry to the Moscow School of Painting, became the author of paintings stored in the best museums and private collections, but to death at the age of 50 and remained an eccentric retrograd in the eyes of critics and pseudociation of art.Childhood and youth
Sergey Alekseevich Korovin was born in Moscow on August 19, 1858 in a merchant family. The origin of the artist's ancestors is still evidenced by researchers. Some believe that he belonged to the family of the Old Believers, others say that the parents of the painter were the descendants of freely published Orthodox peasants.
It is reliably known that Father Alexey Korovin inherited the title of merchant of the 1st Guild from Grandfather Mikhail Emelyanovich. About Mother Apollinaria Volkova said that she had a musical talent, but absolutely no need to lead the economy.
The family had two children, judging by the preserved photo, very similar to each other. Sergei's younger brother, Konstantin, subsequently became an outstanding painter who had drawn the famous portrait of Fedor Shalyapin.
Early years Korovin passed in a spacious house located in the center of the capital, where the Russian creative elite was gathered. Thanks to guests, painters Illarion Mikhailovich Kamyevich and Lvovich Kamenev, the boy fell in love with art and decided to become an artist.
The fulfillment of the dreams prevented the bankruptcy of the father, who, having lost a profitable Yamski case, left a family without livelihood. However, this did not prevent 17-year-old Sergey to enter the Moscow Art School for the beginning of the Talented Teacher-landscapeist Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasova. Following the advice of the mentor and inspired by the works of Ilya Repin and Vasily Surikov, the young student quickly decided on the creative direction and began working in the genre characteristic of the artists-Movie.
Painting
The Creative Biography of the Korovin is inextricably linked with the Moscow School of Painting, where, wandering, he took the post of the teacher and developed his own system aimed at the recognized training of drawing.
In the late 1880s, a graduate of the workshop of Savrasov began to participate in the exhibitions "Movie Artists", demonstrating paintings with social plots, among which were the memorable "Raduga", "beggars on church pages", "Balagan" and "Soldiers in the village" . The last of the work marked the beginning of the series dedicated to the severe fate of the Russian military, which the painter completed in 1885 by the work of "soldiers from the well."
Another favorite theme of the Korovin, who occupied the artist throughout his life, was the Russian peasantry and the village life. During the holidays, the master preferred to move for the city, where with sadness and sympathy watched the life of people changed after the abolition of serfdom. One of the bright samples of creativity of this period was the picture "before punishment", written in 1885 and caused the cruel criticism of colleagues because of the obsolete plot.
Another product dedicated to the village was a large-scale picture called "On the World", where Korowin recreated the scene of the peasant gathering. In the images of heroes - the poor and fist - the artist embodied his own vision of social problems arising in the reformed village, and depicted a new class confrontation of members of the agricultural community.
The painter used the techniques of the composition, thanks to which the viewer who was outside the canvas became an involuntary participant of what was happening and began to empathize the poor man who lost property by the will of insatiable rich.
In the foreground, the paintings of Korovin depicted a figure, personified justice and wisdom. A sad expression of an old face, sitting on a log, emphasized the hopelessness and sadness of the fighter for the right thing. Becoming the semantic center of the work, this character emphasized the dryness and desert of the landscape and created a gloomy and oppressive mood characteristic of the entire peasant cycle.
In the early 1900s, Korovina had to part with his favorite village images and proceed to the fulfillment of a major order for the metropolitan historical museum. The artist entrusted to portray the events of the Kulikov battle, and he began to collect material with Azart and create sketches of the future monumental work.
When the sketches were finished, Sergey Alekseevich unexpectedly arose with health. The forces to implement global plans did not remain, and the last years of life, the painter gave small works, the most famous of which were the "funeral of the peasant" and "Christmas".
In addition, at that time, Korovin gladly engaged in an illustration. He painted the scenes from Ruslan and Lyudmila Alexander Pushkin, and also accompanied by images of Gogol "Shinel".
Personal life
In 1883, Korovin married a girl from a simple peasant family and settled in a small apartment near the school of painting.
Summer the family spent in the village, where Sergey drew landscapes, and his wife Irina Nikolaevna was engaged in the management of the economy and embroidery.
Korovin was closed and focused on art. He hardly transferred the suicide of the disassembled father and the subsequent death of the mother.
Some details of the artist's personal life became known from the memories of his brother Constantine, but the bulk of the information remained the mystery.
Death
By the end of his life, Korovin was very exhausted physically and morally. The busy rhythm of work and the difficult financial situation of the family undermined the health of the artist and forced him to abandon his beloved business. In addition, the historical events of 1905 poorly affected the psychological state of the popular painter. This led to the fact that on October 26, 1908, Sergey Alekseevich died suddenly, and the reasons for such early care researchers consider paralysis of the heart, caused by circulatory disorder.Paintings
- 1880 - "Balagan"
- 1880-1883 - "Procession in Kursk province"
- 1883 - "Rainbow"
- 1883 - "Soldiers in the village"
- 1885 - "Soldiers at the Well"
- 1893 - "On the World"
- 1895 - "Bogomovka"
- 1895 - "Waiting for the train"
- 1896 - "On the road"
- 1908 - "Christmas"