In the boat Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin (1861-1939)

Description of Konstantin Korovin’s painting In a Boat

River boating has more than once inspired artists to create masterpieces. Konstantin Korovin was no exception, portraying himself in a boat with a beautiful lady, the sister-in-law of his friend, the painter Polenov.

Anyone who has been to these parts of the Klyazma River, and the action takes place in Zhukovka, is probably more than once fascinated by the local scenery. This is the near Moscow region, the modern city of Korolev, in which these protected places have remained virtually untouched for the time being. Even today, though rarely, you can find people here, riding on the water surface on a boat. On the other hand, artists often appear on these shores.

Just as in the painting, the greenery overhangs the water and one can hide in its shade. This is exactly what the characters of the painting have done. The young man reads a book aloud, and the girl listens to him attentively, reacting quite emotionally to what she learns from the book. The heroine even rubs her fingers on the rope, presumably intended for mooring their light boat.

The girl is wearing a light-colored blouse and white scarf, and this makes her the main accent of the painting, which is generally in dark tones. The river water, on which there is no sunlight, seems almost black were it not for the greenery reflecting in it.

The young man is dressed in black pants and a brown jacket, next to him is a hat, also dark, and the book in his hands is another light accent of the painting. The conflict is just contained in her, in her narrative, but the couple reading the book looks like one. Both people are gripped by the same experiences. The beautiful summer day seems to contrast with them, as if a boat separates the lovers from everything else.

Was it on purpose or did the artist feel this complex conflict intuitively, it is unlikely to know now. But without it, the painting would not have had so much emotion and movement.