Konstantin Korovin | Il maestro dell'Impressionismo

Il pittore e scenografo, Konstantin Korovin / Константи́н Коро́вин (Mosca, 1861 - Parigi, 1939) è stato uno dei maggiori rappresentanti russi dell'Impressionismo.

Korovin è nato il 23 novembre 1861 a Mosca da una famiglia di mercanti, che in realtà, però, risultano da alcuni documenti ufficiali come "contadini della regione di Vladimir Gubernia".

Suo padre, Aleksey Mikhailovich Korovin, conseguì una laurea e si interessò molto alle arti ed alla musica che diffondeva, perfino, nell'azienda di famiglia fondata dal nonno di Korovin.

Ilya Repin | A Parisian Café, 1875

Repin's time as an academic pensioner in Paris 1873-76 was a fruitful as well as confusing time for the rising young star of Russian realist painting and he responded to a bewildering variety of new stimuli with enthusiasm and uncertainty, painting both Russian motifs as well as the sights of contemporary France.

In particular it was a period of burgeoning experimentation as Repin (1844-1930) took cognisance of modern French artistic developments, the major outcome of which was his large canvas "A Parisian Café", which was sold in London in June 2011 for a record price by the artist.

Andrew Atroshenko, 1965 | Ballet dancers

Born in the City of Pokrovsk, Russia, Andrew Atroshenko became part of a gifted child program at the Children’s Art School there, and was later accepted at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art, one of the world’s most prestigious art schools.

In 1999 Atroshenko spent the entire year in the U.S.

He was invited by "Bay Arts", a New England based group, to take part in their exhibitions and activities.

M. and I. Garmash | Romantic Impressionist painters

Michael and Inessa Garmash have created beautiful paintings, stained-glass windows, mosaics and drawings exhibited all over Europe.

Michael Garmash began a painting of their daughter for a project at school several years after their marriage.

However, their two-year-old found the painting during his absence and painted her own version of the subject.

Inessa Garmash, not wanting Michael to be upset, fixed the painting, packed it up and gave it to him to submit.

Michael handed the painting over for review and was told it was his best work ever.

The Dying Swan

The Dying Swan (originally The Swan) is a solo dance choreographed by Mikhail Fokine to Camille Saint-Saëns's Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des animaux as a pièce d'occasion for the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who performed it about 4,000 times.

The short ballet (four minutes) follows the last moments in the life of a swan, and was first presented in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1905.

The ballet has since influenced modern interpretations of Odette, heroine of Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, and has inspired non-traditional interpretations as well as various adaptations.

Antoon van Welie | Anna Pavlova as the Dying Swan, 1938

Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky | At School Doors, 1897

Descending from peasant class, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky dedicated a significant portion of his work to rural schoolchildren.

His heroes hover indecisively at the classroom door, solve problems at the blackboard, read books or converse with the teacher.

The master's idealistic paintings upheld the notion that education was capable of improving public morality and overcoming the backwardness of the Russian countryside.

This lovingly painted and slightly sentimental canvas was possibly inspired by the personal memories of the artist, who attended Sergei Rachinsky's village school in Tatevo, Smolensk Province.

Ilya Repin | Historical / Genre painter

Ilya Yefimovich Repin / Илья́ Ефи́мович Ре́пин, (1844-1930), Russian painter of historical subjects known for the power and drama of his works.

Born to a poor family near Kharkov, Repin learned his trade from a painter of icons named Bunakov and in 1864 became a student at the Academy of Fine Arts at St. Petersburg.

Czárdás | Hungarian Dance

Inscribed in 2024 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Csárdás is a Hungarian dance that is performed by couples consisting of a man and a woman, or, in some regions, of two women.

Multiple couples participate in the dance at the same time, forming one large or several smaller circles.

Each region has its own themes, gestures and figures, which are improvised according to well-known, established rules and patterns.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner | Czardas dancers, 1908 | Gemeentemuseum Den Haag