Alexander Kuprin was born in 1880 in Borisoglebsk, in present-day Voronezh Oblast, and died in 1960 in Moscow. He trained in Voronezh, St. Petersburg, and Moscow, studying under artists including Abram Arkhipov and Konstantin Korovin. Kuprin became one of the founding members of the Jack of Diamonds group, participating in its inaugural exhibition in 1910 and contributing to the development of Russian avant-garde painting. His early work reflected Impressionist influences, later shifting toward Cézanne-inspired structure and geometric form.

During the 1910s and 1920s, Kuprin produced still lifes, landscapes, and Cubist-inflected compositions that emphasized decorative principles and analytical form. He taught at Svomas in St. Pet...