Zinaida Serebryakova (1884-1967) was a Russian artist, especially famous for her remarkable self-portraits and magnificent nudes, which depicted really beautiful women and girls. And this is pure admiration for beauty, a woman's view of it, without male lust and excessive vulgarity. She willingly wrote and portraits of her children, such as in the painting "At Breakfast".
At breakfast
However, looking at this picture, some people have a legitimate question: "what kind of breakfast is this, more reminiscent of a thorough lunch". It's simple - the Serebryakovs were not strangers to the latest European trends, including in the field of proper nutrition. That's why they fed their children four times a day - first there was a simple light breakfast, then lunch, and the painting depicts the moment of the second breakfast, or lunch, which came at noon. At the table sit three Serebryakov children - eight-year-old Zhenya, six-year-old Sasha in the foreground and little Tata, who was only two years old. There is a purely impressionist technique in this painting - the hands of an adult pouring soup on plates. And this insignificant, at first glance, detail is very important - the children are under supervision, they are protected and ready to eat well.
Katya with a still life
In the painting "At Breakfast" special attention is paid to hands in general, and they are wonderfully painted. An adult's hands are large, heavy, but not calloused, most likely the hands of a mother or grandmother. Tata's hands are babyishly plump, while the older sons still retain their childish puffiness, but they already look like adult hands.
And the children themselves are painted without excessive cuteness, and do not resemble curly angels, as portrayed by many salon portraitists. This is the look of a caring mother, endlessly loving, but well aware that children can and naughty and capricious, so you need to bring them up, not to smile.
Self-Portrait with Daughters
Despite the impressionistic here-and-now moment, the painting At Breakfast is compositionally carefully considered and balanced. There is nothing casual about it, and it is truly an outstanding example of a family portrait in which Serebryakova had no equal.
Bather
Serebryakova willingly and skillfully painted nudes, as in this painting "Bather". Many people think that this picture depicts Zinaida Serebryakova herself, but in fact it is her sister Catherine, who was very similar to the artist. In style, the picture belongs to neoclassicism, and as in all nudes of Serebryakova there is a perfect harmony of innocence and female sensuality. There were no special high ideas in her nudes, except a healthy admiration for beauty, but isn't pure aesthetics a value in its own right?
Semi-reclining nude
The bather in Serebryakova's painting is absolutely natural, there is not a single drop of tension and shyness that would arise even in the most professional model while posing for a male artist. The bather's gaze is slightly sly, there is a slight smile on her face, her head is turned - as if she has seen something interesting in the distance. Serebryakova's eternal classical subject - a nude bather - acquires a new vision, thanks to her relaxed and feminine look at a young, beautiful nude body.
Ballerinas in the restroom
Serebryakova willingly wrote and all sorts of ballerinas in the dressing room and before performances, and it seems that they her presence they did not even notice or took for granted, which would be impossible if in the women's dressing room sat a man. Serebryakova also had wonderful nudes of Moroccan women, admiring their exotic beauty.
Moroccan
However, there were at Serebryakaya and nudes, which now seem completely reprehensible. For example, the painting "Sleeping Girl", where she depicted her daughter - for obvious reasons we can not show it in the article. However, nothing then prevented this painting from being sold at auction in 2015 for $5.9 million dollars.
And what do you think about Serebryakova's paintings and where the boundaries of what is permissible in art, whether it is possible to paint such portraits of her daughter - write in the comments.
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