Basket with melons and squash 1938

Zinaida Serebriakova painted this still life, "Basket with melons and squash," using oil on canvas. Here, she has taken produce, the results of agricultural labor, as her subject. Serebriakova has rendered the textures of these objects in a painterly fashion. Look closely, and you can see how the surfaces are evoked with subtle variations in tone and color. The smooth skin of the onions, the rougher feel of the squash, and the woven texture of the basket itself are all carefully considered. The image has a strong link to labor, and the realities of working life. In pre-industrial societies, the harvest was the central moment in the year. In that context, Serebriakova is not simply painting a pretty picture, but is calling our attention to a web of human effort. It is worth remembering that so much artistic practice has been dedicated to the lifestyles of the wealthy. Here, Serebriakova has instead chosen to celebrate something more elemental, something more egalitarian. In this way, she elevates the status of craft and labor in society.