Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova

Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova was born on December 10, 1884 in Neskuchnoye, a country estate near Kharkiv. She came from a distinguished Russian artistic family, the Benois, who played a significant role in the Russian art scene. Her father, Yevgeny Nikolayevich Lanceray, was a well-known sculptor, and her mother, Yekaterina Nikolayevna Benois, was the sister of the famous architect Leon Benois. This artistic environment influenced Serebryakova from an early age and laid the foundation for her later career as a painter.

After finishing school in St. Petersburg, Serebryakova studied at the Art School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts. She continued her education in Paris, where she became familiar with the works of the old masters and developed her own style. Her early works show a strong influence of impressionism, but she soon found a more realistic and detailed style that characterizes her works.

Serebryakova's breakthrough came in 1910 with her self-portrait "In the Mirror", which made her famous in the Russian art scene. Her works are characterized by a remarkable delicacy and sensitivity, especially in her portraits and genre paintings. She created intimate and sensitive depictions of Russian rural life, often characterized by a nostalgic and romantic mood.

However, the Russian Revolution of 1917 brought great changes to Serebryakova's life. Her husband Boris Serebryakov died of typhus in 1919, and she was left to care for her four children alone. The political upheaval led her to emigrate to Paris in 1924, where she spent the rest of her life. Despite the difficulties of exile, she remained artistically active and exhibited regularly in Europe.

Serebryakova's works were appreciated in her new homeland of France, but she remained largely unknown in Russia until a rediscovery of her art in the 1960s. Today she is considered one of the most important Russian painters of the 20th century, whose works can be found in prestigious museums around the world.

Interesting fact:

Zinaida Serebryakova was one of the first women in Russia to enter the world of art and assert herself in a male-dominated art scene. Her self-portrait "In the Mirror" became a symbol of female empowerment in art.

Important works of art & paintings by Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova:

1. "In the Mirror" (1910)
2. "Peasant Girl" (1915)
3. "Harvest" (1915)
4. "Sleeping Girl" (1923)
5. "Potato Harvest" (1927)
6. "Portrait of Yekaterina Serebryakova" (1923)
7. "Portrait of Olga Lanceray" (1921)
8. "Portrait of Evgeny Lanceray" (1922)
9. "Portrait of Alexander Benois" (1924)
10. "Portrait of Nadezhda Lanceray" (1925)