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Lot Essay
In the artist's studio is one of the most important paintings from Korovin's early Paris period to appear at auction in recent years. Held in only two private collections since its creation, In the artist's studio has not been seen by the public for over 30 years and its existence was only known to a small circle of academics, including I. Zilbershtein who reproduced the work in his Konstantin Korovin vspominaet... published in 1971.
Considered by many as the first Russian Impressionist, Konstantin Korovin is often credited with imbuing French Impressionism with a distinctly Russian sensibility. Despite extensive travel and his emigration to France in 1923, he forever remained devoted to his homeland and embraced its influence. In a letter to his friend and peer, Apollinarii Vasnetsov in 1893, he wrote of Versailles: '...I liked the gardens but the part that gave me real joy was the grass and some of the trees, things that reminded me of Russia'.
Korovin's family was essentially mercantile; however, there was also a strong artistic heritage. His older brother Sergei Korovin was a noted realist painter and another relative, Illarion Prianishnikov, was a prominent artist and teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1875, Konstantin Korovin himself entered the architecture department of the institute, later transferring to the painting department where he studied under the famous landscape painters Aleksei Savrasov and Vasilii Polenov. The latter proved to be particularly significant in Korovin's development and introduced him to Savva Mamontov and Abramtsevo. The Abramtsevo circle's fascination with neo-Russian motifs is reflected in some of Korovin's early works, especially his stage designs for Mamontov's Private Opera. During these formative years, Korovin became a member of several artistic associations and groups, including Mir iskusstva (World of Art) and the Union of Russian Artists, and he even participated in the exhibitions of the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers) from 1889-1899.
In 1892, Korovin settled in Paris where he was to spend the next two years, absorbing the culture and synthesizing all of the creative influences that the capital had to offer. The major works completed during this period share a similar tonality; a silvery grey palette which reflected the crisp Paris light. Korovin's well-known depiction of the same studio (fig. 1), easily distinguished by its large windows, rug and interior walls, is dated to 1892-94 and it seems likely that the present work was also painted at this time. In the artist's studio, however, is far more revealing as it shows the artist himself at work in the very place that Korovin claimed to be 'an escape from a world of baseness, evil and unfairness' (ibid. p. 84). The softly curved impasto of the bright blooms provides a stark contrast to the linear strokes which delineate the buildings glimpsed through the windows, as if to highlight the artist's ability to escape the present to another world through the use of dramatic light and colour. It was this sensibility that became integral to Korovin's oeuvre in the years ahead.
Semen Alekseevich Belits (1898-1980), later known in Paris as Simon Beilitz, was born in Nizhny Novogorod and emigrated to France in the early 1920s. A respected figure among fellow Russian art connoisseurs, Belits was one of small group of influential collectors and dealers, including Alexander Popoff, Léon Grinberg and Isaar Gurvich, who dominated the Russian art market in Paris after the Second World War.
Although he left no published memoirs, Belits is remembered through his correspondence with others and the anecdotes that still circulate in collectors' circles. Alexandre Polonsky, Viktor Provatorov and Nicholas Zubov all recalled the impressive display of Russian art on Belits's walls. His dealer's instincts were legendary. He would draw collectors in with the promise of the painting that they had set their heart on, only to offer another in its place. This ritual would sometimes go on for years; for Belits, collecting was a passion that required dedication and endurance from all those who succumbed to its pleasures.
Belits was also held in high-esteem by academics and artists alike. Probably the only Russian art dealer living outside the Soviet Union to be mentioned in Fedorov-Davydov's seminal monograph on Levitan and Grabar's tome on Repin, Belits continued to maintain privileged contacts with critics and Russian museums after he had emigrated. Correspondence between Belits and Alexandre Benois and Sergei Vinogradov further illustrates his close ties with the artistic community. However, the best example of this is provided by Zilbershtein's dedication to Belits in a copy of his Konstantin Korovin vspominaet... (Moscow, 1971): 'Dear Semen Alekseevich! I'm extremely grateful to you for all that you have done in your heartfelt way to help prepare this book. From my heart I wish you and Rebecca [Belits's wife] a good 1972. 26/12/1971. I. Zilbershtein'. The productive collaboration between Belits and Zilbershtein, underlined by the reference within the book to an unpublished manuscript of Belits's recollections of Konstantin Korovin held in Zilbershtein's archives, suggests the close bond between the collector and the artist. Inevitably, this relationship enabled Belits to acquire canvasses of exceptional quality from Korovin, including In the artist's studio and A lady in white seated in a garden (lot 40).
More interested by his library and research, Belits relied heavily on his wife, an engineer, for contact with the world beyond that of Russian art. Following her death, he donated a portrait of Tolstoy by Leonid Pasternak and a watercolour by Karl Briullov to the Louvre and eventually retired to Israel where he died in 1980.
Considered by many as the first Russian Impressionist, Konstantin Korovin is often credited with imbuing French Impressionism with a distinctly Russian sensibility. Despite extensive travel and his emigration to France in 1923, he forever remained devoted to his homeland and embraced its influence. In a letter to his friend and peer, Apollinarii Vasnetsov in 1893, he wrote of Versailles: '...I liked the gardens but the part that gave me real joy was the grass and some of the trees, things that reminded me of Russia'.
Korovin's family was essentially mercantile; however, there was also a strong artistic heritage. His older brother Sergei Korovin was a noted realist painter and another relative, Illarion Prianishnikov, was a prominent artist and teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1875, Konstantin Korovin himself entered the architecture department of the institute, later transferring to the painting department where he studied under the famous landscape painters Aleksei Savrasov and Vasilii Polenov. The latter proved to be particularly significant in Korovin's development and introduced him to Savva Mamontov and Abramtsevo. The Abramtsevo circle's fascination with neo-Russian motifs is reflected in some of Korovin's early works, especially his stage designs for Mamontov's Private Opera. During these formative years, Korovin became a member of several artistic associations and groups, including Mir iskusstva (World of Art) and the Union of Russian Artists, and he even participated in the exhibitions of the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers) from 1889-1899.
In 1892, Korovin settled in Paris where he was to spend the next two years, absorbing the culture and synthesizing all of the creative influences that the capital had to offer. The major works completed during this period share a similar tonality; a silvery grey palette which reflected the crisp Paris light. Korovin's well-known depiction of the same studio (fig. 1), easily distinguished by its large windows, rug and interior walls, is dated to 1892-94 and it seems likely that the present work was also painted at this time. In the artist's studio, however, is far more revealing as it shows the artist himself at work in the very place that Korovin claimed to be 'an escape from a world of baseness, evil and unfairness' (ibid. p. 84). The softly curved impasto of the bright blooms provides a stark contrast to the linear strokes which delineate the buildings glimpsed through the windows, as if to highlight the artist's ability to escape the present to another world through the use of dramatic light and colour. It was this sensibility that became integral to Korovin's oeuvre in the years ahead.
Semen Alekseevich Belits (1898-1980), later known in Paris as Simon Beilitz, was born in Nizhny Novogorod and emigrated to France in the early 1920s. A respected figure among fellow Russian art connoisseurs, Belits was one of small group of influential collectors and dealers, including Alexander Popoff, Léon Grinberg and Isaar Gurvich, who dominated the Russian art market in Paris after the Second World War.
Although he left no published memoirs, Belits is remembered through his correspondence with others and the anecdotes that still circulate in collectors' circles. Alexandre Polonsky, Viktor Provatorov and Nicholas Zubov all recalled the impressive display of Russian art on Belits's walls. His dealer's instincts were legendary. He would draw collectors in with the promise of the painting that they had set their heart on, only to offer another in its place. This ritual would sometimes go on for years; for Belits, collecting was a passion that required dedication and endurance from all those who succumbed to its pleasures.
Belits was also held in high-esteem by academics and artists alike. Probably the only Russian art dealer living outside the Soviet Union to be mentioned in Fedorov-Davydov's seminal monograph on Levitan and Grabar's tome on Repin, Belits continued to maintain privileged contacts with critics and Russian museums after he had emigrated. Correspondence between Belits and Alexandre Benois and Sergei Vinogradov further illustrates his close ties with the artistic community. However, the best example of this is provided by Zilbershtein's dedication to Belits in a copy of his Konstantin Korovin vspominaet... (Moscow, 1971): 'Dear Semen Alekseevich! I'm extremely grateful to you for all that you have done in your heartfelt way to help prepare this book. From my heart I wish you and Rebecca [Belits's wife] a good 1972. 26/12/1971. I. Zilbershtein'. The productive collaboration between Belits and Zilbershtein, underlined by the reference within the book to an unpublished manuscript of Belits's recollections of Konstantin Korovin held in Zilbershtein's archives, suggests the close bond between the collector and the artist. Inevitably, this relationship enabled Belits to acquire canvasses of exceptional quality from Korovin, including In the artist's studio and A lady in white seated in a garden (lot 40).
More interested by his library and research, Belits relied heavily on his wife, an engineer, for contact with the world beyond that of Russian art. Following her death, he donated a portrait of Tolstoy by Leonid Pasternak and a watercolour by Karl Briullov to the Louvre and eventually retired to Israel where he died in 1980.