Serebryakova Zinaida Evgenyevna
Zinaida Evgenyevna Serebryakova is an outstanding Russian and French artist, one of the first women in the history of Russian painting to gain wide recognition. I have selected the key facts from her biography and described her most iconic works.
Biography
She was born on December 10, 1884, at the Neskuchnoye estate (Belgorodsky District, Kursk Governorate; now part of the Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine). Her childhood and youth were spent in this artistic environment: her father, Evgeny Alexandrovich Lansere, was a well‑known sculptor, and her mother, Ekaterina Nikolaevna (née Benois), worked in graphic arts in her youth. There were other talented people in the family — for example, her uncle, Alexander Benois, became a prominent artist and critic.
Zinaida received her artistic education gradually: in 1903–1905, she was a student of the portrait painter Osip Braz, and in 1905–1906, she studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. In 1905, she married her cousin, Boris Serebryakov.
In 1911, Serebryakova joined the “World of Art” association, but her approach differed from that of many of her colleagues: she gravitated towards simple, lyrical subjects, harmony, and plasticity.
The turning point came in 1924: after a successful exhibition in New York (where the public particularly liked “Sleeping Girl on a Red Blanket,” 1923), the artist left for France to earn a living. She was unable to return to the USSR — she spent about 43 years in exile. In Paris, she worked a lot: she painted commissioned portraits and landscapes (including views of Paris, Versailles, the French Riviera, and Provence), and went on trips (to England, Switzerland, Italy, and twice to Morocco — there she created about 60 sketches and studies). In the 1940s, during the fascist occupation, she became a member of the Syndicate of French Artists.
Zinaida Serebryakova died on September 19, 1967, in Paris. She is buried in the Sainte‑Geneviève‑des‑Bois cemetery.
Creation
She was widely known for her self-portrait "Behind the Toilet" (1909). In the painting, the artist is depicted in a mirror — she combs her hair, and the composition details the details of the dressing table. The work was well received by critics (including Alexander Benois and Valentin Serov), and the Tretyakov Gallery acquired it directly from the exhibition. Many art historians see this self-portrait as an image of a harmonious person.
Among other important works:
“The Bathing Girl” (1911, State Russian Museum).
“At Breakfast” (1914, State Tretyakov Gallery) — a warm family portrait of the artist’s children.
“The Harvest” (1915, Odessa Art Museum) — from a series of paintings on the themes of people’s life and peasant labour.
“Whitening the Canvas” (1917, State Tretyakov Gallery) — one of the key works of the “golden period”. The figures of peasant women against the sky look monumental thanks to the low horizon line.
“The House of Cards” (1919, State Russian Museum) was created during the difficult post‑revolutionary period, when, due to a shortage of oil paints, Serebryakova switched to using charcoal and pencil.
Personal life and difficulties
After the revolution, the artist’s life changed dramatically. In March 1919, her husband Boris died of typhus. Soon after, the family estate was looted and burned down. Serebryakova was left with four children and a sick mother, without any means of support. She refused to follow the then‑fashionable avant‑garde trends or to paint portraits of Soviet figures; instead, she made pencil sketches of exhibits for the Kharkiv Archaeological Museum.
Life in exile was also difficult for her: her adherence to classical forms did not always resonate with the Parisian audience, and she experienced periods of acute financial hardship. Nevertheless, she managed to take some of her children to live with her: in 1925, her son Alexander, and in 1928, her daughter Ekaterina. Her daughter Tatyana became a theatre artist. In 1960, after 36 years of separation, she visited her mother.
Heritage
The artistic legacy of Serebryakova is being carefully studied. In 2008, the Zinaida Serebryakova Foundation was established in Paris, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting her work.