In 1887, while the Russian Private Opera Company was on tour in a certain city, the renowned Russian painter Konstantin Korovin met a young woman. He then painted her portrait.

It might seem like a routine task for an artist. However, “Portrait of a Chorus Girl” is considered the first Impressionist painting created in the Russian Empire. This portrait not only marked a new chapter in Russian painting, thanks to its distinctly Impressionist features, but also signaled a fundamentally new phase in Russian art.

Korovin met this choir singer in Kharkiv and painted the portrait there, although the inscription “Kharkiv” was added later. The painting “Portrait of a Chorus Girl” was originally dated 1883. Later, based on stylistic analysis and a study of archival materials, it was determined that the artist actually met this model in Kharkiv in 1887 during a tour by the Russian Private Opera, which establishes the date “Portrait of a Chorus Girl” to that very year.

This information was made public in 2012 by Lydia Gladkova, head of the scientific research department at the State Tretyakov Gallery, in connection with the anniversary exhibition (marking the artist’s 150th birthday) held on Krymsky Val.