In the kitchen 1923

Zinaida Serebriakova painted this domestic scene with oils, capturing a moment of everyday life in what feels like a really immediate way. Just look at the cool blue tones offset by the red beets! I can almost feel the smoothness of the eggs in the young girl's hands. You can imagine Serebriakova composing the scene, maybe shifting things around until the balance felt just right, setting the eggs next to the fish to capture their contrasting textures. I wonder if she felt a little guilty painting the dead fish? The way the light catches the scales suggests she really looked, trying to capture the subtleties of light and form. This reminds me a little of Chardin, who was obsessed with painting surfaces. Serebriakova is part of an ongoing conversation between artists, across time, inspiring each other's creativity. Her painting embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for many readings.