Peasant woman getting her shoes on 1915

Zinaida Serebriakova painted this portrait of a peasant woman, probably with oils, though I can’t be sure. Look at how the brushstrokes seem to describe the figure’s form through subtle modulations of light and shadow. I bet the artist was really trying to capture the quality of the light as it wraps around her. I wonder, what’s the artist thinking about as she paints this scene? Is she trying to capture something essential about the subject’s experience or just the way the light hits her face? It is hard to tie your shoes, especially if they are made of woven bark. I feel like Serebriakova is really tuned in to something, and perhaps that something is what we might all recognize: the shared struggle and beauty in the everyday. This is a very tender image, and it reminds me that painting can be like having a conversation, not just with the subject, but also with other artists throughout time. It’s about keeping the discussion alive.