Set design for Khovanshchina: Act I

Details

Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939)
Set design for Khovanshchina: Act I
signed 'KOROVINE' (lower left), inscribed 'KHOVANCHTCHINA' (lower right)
gouache on board
14¾ x 21¼ in. (37.5 x 54 cm.)

Provenance

Gift from Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) to the aunt of the present owner.

Brought to you by

Aino-Leena Grapin

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

agrapin@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2547

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The 1911 production of Khovanshchina presented at St Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre was one of Korovin's greatest theatrical achievements. Encouraged by the eminent critic Vladimir Stasov, Modest Mussorgsky wrote the five-act opera, which is based on the two-pronged historical resistance to Peter the Great's modernisation of the state. The resistance was led by Prince Khovanvskii and the Streltsy and Dosifey, leader of the Old Believers. The present work probably relates to Feodor Chaliapine's 1924 revival of the opera at the Bolshoi Theatre.

More from Russian Art

View All