Fields. Neskuchnoye 1910

This is a landscape by Zinaida Serebriakova, made with delicate brushstrokes, probably in oil on canvas. The colours are muted; there's a real sense of hazy atmosphere. What grabs me is the tension between the flat, almost abstract planes of colour, and the realistic details, like the haystacks dotted around the field. Look at the way the light hits the large golden field in the foreground; it's painted with such a gentle touch, but it creates a strong sense of depth. The eye is drawn back and back into the image. There is a little track marked by darker paint that meanders through the scene, almost like a drawing on top of a painting. Serebriakova has such a distinctive vision. You might see echoes of Impressionism here, but for me this has something of the graphic sensibility of someone like Vuillard. It's an image that invites you to slow down, to wander through it, and to find your own way.