Still Life with Blue Vase 1922

Konstantin Korovin painted this Still Life with Blue Vase with oils in the late 19th or early 20th century. The arrangement presents traditional symbols of wealth and abundance. Painted in Russia, this picture of fruit and flowers seems to deliberately evoke the styles of French Impressionism. Its loose brushstrokes and emphasis on light are of a piece with the artistic culture of turn-of-the-century Europe. However, it’s important to note that Russian artists like Korovin played a key role in translating these styles into a specifically Russian context. Korovin and his peers faced the challenge of reconciling international trends with their own national artistic traditions. They had to find a way of both fitting in and standing apart from a culture increasingly organized around museums and the international art market. Historians rely on sources like exhibition catalogs, period criticism, and artist’s biographies to better understand the place of art in its own time. It’s only through these kinds of historical resources that we can appreciate the social meaning of even a still life like this one.