Ballet dancers in their dressing room 1923

Zinaida Serebriakova created this piece of ballet dancers in their dressing room with pastels, and you can really feel that powdery texture. Look at how the marks aren't blended perfectly, letting the process show. I love how the surface feels almost like a memory, hazy and soft, as if the artist quickly captured a fleeting moment. Notice the dancer in the foreground, bent over, lacing up her shoe. Serebriakova doesn't give us a sharp outline; instead, she uses these broken strokes of brown and black to define her form. It's like she’s more interested in the feeling of movement and light than in perfect representation. The smudgy quality of the pastel adds to the intimacy, drawing you into this private world backstage. She reminds me of Degas, who was similarly fascinated with dancers and their world. It’s like they're both eavesdropping, catching glimpses of these figures in their most unguarded moments. It feels like a quiet conversation between artists across time.