Konstantin Alexievitch Korovine (1861-1939). Oil on board depicting a twilight street scene in Paris. Signed and inscribed “Paris” along the lower left. Konstantin Alexievitch Korovine spent his childhood in Moscow, and began his artistic studies at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1875. He spent the next ten years there, excluding a one year long interlude to study in St. Petersburg, being trained in traditional academic painting. In 1885, Korovine first visited Paris, where he discovered Impressionism. In Impressionism he found what he had been unable to find in his conventional education–a way to make emotions the focus of a scene. He went on to have a successful career in both Russia and Paris, and was especially known for his theatre designs for distinguished Russian institutions such as the Mariinsky Ballet, which were notable for providing a mood along with a simple setting. Korovineís depictions of Paris display his love for the city and the artistic style he learned there. He firmly portrays the buildings, but leaves the surrounding areas somewhat looser, the constant bustle and movement of the cities visible in the lively brushstrokes in the clouds and the leaves, and the almost blurred figures rushing across the streets. The colors are bold but inviting, the golden glow from the streetlights and shop windows suffusing the scene, reflecting off the cobblestones and trees. Korovineís choice to portray pedestrian, everyday scenes instead of the nearby famous monuments contributes to the inviting mood of the scene–he portrays Paris not as a world famous destination but as a home. Unframed; height: 15 7/8 in x width: 12 5/8 in. Framed; height: 19 in x width: 15 3/4 in.