Portrait of nanny Zinaida Serebryakova (1884-1967)
Zinaida Serebryakova – Portrait of nanny
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Painter: Zinaida Serebryakova
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Katrina was painted in 1907 in oil on canvas. Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova was an artist who made art in the late 19th early 20th century. She lived in Russia and was a unique person, because in painting there were only men. But this did not stop Serebryakova. She left a lot of paintings, which are valued in our country. The woman painter became one of the first in the history of world painting. Born into a family where her parents were connected with art, Serebryakova was no stranger to creativity.
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Description of Zinaida Serebryakova’s Portrait of a Nanny
Katrina was painted in 1907 in oil on canvas.
Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova was an artist who made art in the late 19th early 20th century. She lived in Russia and was a unique person, because in painting there were only men. But this did not stop Serebryakova. She left a lot of paintings, which are valued in our country. The woman painter became one of the first in the history of world painting.
Born into a family where her parents were connected with art, Serebryakova was no stranger to creativity. But she received no special education. She earned her professionalism and skill through titanic work, high self-criticism and constant self-education.
Serebryakova became a master of portrait painting. She constantly worked in nature. Zinaida Yevgenyevna organized her first exhibition in 1910, after which she gained popularity in artistic circles. She came to be regarded as a new phenomenon of the 20th century.
Among her works in the portrait genre is the painting Portrait of a Nanny. This is not the only portrait of this subject, which the artist created under the influence of her simple peasant life. Serebryakova was attracted by the simplicity of their lives and the unvarnished nature of the subjects. During that period the artist created several canvases devoted to peasant life.
The 1907 painting Portrait of a Nanny depicts a simple woman. She sits on a chair, her appearance tired. The nanny is modestly dressed, her gaze aloof. A white apron dilutes the overall modest appearance. Serebryakova has skillfully portrayed the woman, she looks very realistic. All her thoughts are clear. Such Russian women nannies brought up children from various families in past centuries. Poets, artists and just talented people came out of their sensitive control.
The painting is in storage in the State Budgetary Institution of Culture of the Rostov region "Taganrog Art Museum.
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The background is muted and textured, with a large, indistinct light-colored shape on the left and hints of domestic items, such as a pitcher and a bowl, on the right. The brushstrokes are visible and somewhat loose, giving the painting a sense of immediacy and emotional depth rather than precise detail.
The subtexts of the painting lie in the portrayal of the sitter. The red garment, often associated with passion or vitality, contrasts with her downcast gaze and subdued posture, suggesting a hidden interior life beneath a possibly required outward appearance. The apron signifies her role or profession, hinting at a life of service or domesticity. The overall mood is one of quiet dignity and perhaps resignation, inviting the viewer to contemplate the life and thoughts of this woman, whose identity is defined by her role but whose gaze suggests a depth of experience beyond it. The painting elevates a figure often overlooked, offering a moment of serious consideration of her humanity.