Brief Biography-Victor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov was from Saratov, Russia. He joined the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1890. He went to Saint Petersburg the following year and entered the Imperial Academy of Arts before returning to Moscow for health reasons. In 1895, he moved to Paris and studied with Fernand Cormon, from whom he learned a considerable amount. After three years, he returned to Russia and changed from using oil paint to other mediums over the following few years. He became a prominent artist in Germany and France but remained in financial difficulties until near the end of his life. His most notable painting was The Pool. He became known as the first Russian Symbolist painter. He was a founder member of the Moscow Association of Artists.