Zinaida Serebryakova: biography and photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Zinaida Serebryakova, a Russian artist who became famous in the early 20th century for her self-portrait, lived a long and eventful life, most of which she spent in exile in Paris. Now, in connection with the holding of a huge exhibition of her works at the Tretyakov Gallery, I would like to remember and tell about her difficult life, about the ups and downs, about the fate of her family.

Zinaida Serebryakova: biography, first successes in painting

She was born in 1884 into the famous artistic Benoit-Lancere family, which became famous for several generations of sculptors, painters, architects and composers. Her childhood passed in a wonderful creative atmosphere in the circle of a large family that surrounded her with tenderness and care.

The family lived in St. Petersburg, and in the summer they always moved to the Neskuchnoye estate near Kharkov. Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova studied painting privately, first with Princess Tenishcheva in St. Petersburg, then with the portrait painter O. Braz. She later continued her education in Italy and France.

On her return from Paris, the artist joins the World of Art society, which united artists of those times, later called the eraSilver Age. The first success came to her in 1910, after showing her self-portrait "Behind the toilet" (1909), immediately bought by P. Tretyakov for the gallery.

The picture shows a beautiful young woman standing in front of a mirror doing her morning toilet. Her eyes look kindly at the viewer, women's little things are laid out on the table nearby: perfume bottles, a jewelry box, beads, there is an unlit candle. In this work, the artist's face and eyes are still full of joyful youth and sun, expressing a bright emotional life-affirming mood.

Marriage and children

With her chosen one, she spent all her childhood and youth, constantly communicating both in Neskuchny and in St. Petersburg with the family of her relatives Serebryakov. Boris Serebryakov was her cousin, they loved each other since childhood and dreamed of getting married. However, this did not work out for a long time due to the church's disagreement with closely related marriages. And only in 1905, after an agreement with a local priest (for 300 rubles), the relatives were able to arrange a wedding for them.

The interests of the newlyweds were completely opposite: Boris was preparing to become a railway engineer, loved risk and even went to practice in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War, and Zinaida Serebryakova was fond of painting. However, they had a very tender and strong love relationship, bright plans for a future life together.

Their life together began with a year-long trip to Paris, where the artist continued to study painting at the Académie de la GrandeShomier, and Boris studied at the Higher School of Bridges and Roads.

Returning to Neskuchnoye, the artist is actively working on landscapes and portraits, while Boris continues his studies at the Institute of Communications and does housework. They had four children-weather: first two sons, then two daughters. During these years, many works were dedicated to her children, which reflect all the joys of motherhood and growing up of babies.

The famous painting "At Breakfast" depicts a family feast in a house where love and happiness live, depicts children at the table, surrounding household trifles. The artist also paints portraits, her own and her husband’s, sketches of economic life in Neskuchny, draws local peasant women in the works “Whitening the Canvas”, “Harvest”, etc. The locals loved the Serebryakov family very much, respected for their ability to manage the household and therefore posed for pictures with pleasure artists.

Revolution and famine

The revolutionary events of 1917 reached Neskuchny, bringing fire and disaster. The Serebryakov estate was burned down by the “fighters of the revolution”, but the artist herself and her children managed to get out of it with the help of local peasants, who warned her and even gave her a few sacks of wheat and carrots for the journey. The Serebryakovs move to Kharkov to live with their grandmother. Boris during these months worked as a road specialist, first in Siberia, then in Moscow.

Without receiving any news from her husband, Zinaida Serebryakova is very worried about himsearch, leaving the children with their mother. However, after their reunion on the road, Boris contracted typhus and died in the arms of his loving wife. Zinaida is left alone with 4 children and an elderly mother in hungry Kharkov. She works part-time at the archaeological museum, making sketches of prehistoric skulls and using the money to buy food for the children.

Tragic "House of Cards"

The painting "House of Cards" by Zinaida Serebryakova was painted a few months after the death of her husband Boris, when the artist lived starving with her children and her mother in Kharkov, and became the most tragic among her works. Serebryakova herself perceived the title of the painting as a metaphor for her own life.

It was painted with oil paints, which were the last of the period, because all the money went to ensure that the family did not die of hunger. Life fell apart like a house of cards. And ahead of the artist there were no prospects in her creative and personal life, the main thing at that time was to save and feed the children.

Life in Petrograd

There was neither money nor orders for painting in Kharkov, so the artist decides to move the whole family to Petrograd, closer to relatives and cultural life. She was invited to work in the Petrograd Department of Museums as a professor at the Academy of Arts, and in December 1920 the whole family was already living in Petrograd. However, she gave up teaching to work in her workshop.

Serebryakova paints portraits, views of Tsarskoye Selo and Gatchina. However, her hopesa better life did not materialize: there was also famine in the northern capital, and even potato peelings had to be eaten.

Rare customers helped Zinaida feed and raise children, daughter Tanya began to study choreography at the Mariinsky Theater. Young ballerinas who posed for the artist constantly came to their house. Thus, a whole series of ballet paintings and compositions was created, in which young sylphs and ballerinas are shown dressing to go on stage in a performance.

In 1924, the revival of exhibition activity began. Several paintings by Zinaida Serebryakova at an exhibition of Russian art in America were sold. Having received a fee, she decides to leave for a while in Paris to earn money to support her large family.

Paris. In exile

Leaving the children with their grandmother in Petrograd, Serebryakova arrives in Paris in September 1924. However, her creative life here turned out to be unsuccessful: at first there was no own workshop, few orders, she manages to earn very little money, and even those she sends to Russia to his family.

In the biography of the artist Zinaida Serebryakova, life in Paris turned out to be a turning point, after which she was never able to return to her homeland, and she would see her two children only 36 years later, almost before her death.

The brightest period of life in France is when her daughter Katya comes here, and together they visit small towns in France and Switzerland, making sketches, landscapes, portraits of local peasants (1926).

Trips toMorocco

In 1928, after painting a series of portraits for a Belgian businessman, Zinaida and Ekaterina Serebryakov set out on a trip to Morocco with the money they earned. Struck by the beauty of the East, Serebryakova makes a whole series of sketches and works, drawing oriental streets and local residents.

Back in Paris, she arranges an exhibition of "Moroccan" works, collecting a huge amount of rave reviews, but she could not earn anything. All her friends noted her impracticality and inability to sell her work.

In 1932, Zinaida Serebryakova again travels to Morocco, again doing sketches and landscapes there. During these years, her son Alexander, who also became an artist, was able to escape to her. He is engaged in decorative activities, interiors, and also makes custom-made lampshades.

Her two children come to Paris and help her earn money by being active in various artistic and decorative works.

Children in Russia

Two children of the artist Evgeny and Tatyana, who remained in Russia with their grandmother, lived very poorly and hungry. Their apartment was compacted and they occupied only one room, which they had to heat themselves.

In 1933, her mother, E. N. Lansere, died, unable to withstand hunger and deprivation, the children were left on their own. They have already grown up and have also chosen creative professions: Zhenya became an architect, and Tatiana became an artist in the theater. Gradually, they arranged their lives, created families, but for many years they dreamed of meetingwith his mother, constantly corresponding with her.

In the 1930s, the Soviet government invited her to return to her homeland, but in those years Serebriakova worked on a private order in Belgium, and then World War II began. After the end of the war, she became very ill and did not dare to move.

Only in 1960 Tatyana was able to come to Paris and see her mother, 36 years after the breakup.

Serebryakova exhibitions in Russia

In 1965, during the thaw years in the Soviet Union, Zinaida Serebryakova's only lifetime solo exhibition took place in Moscow, then it was held in Kyiv and Leningrad. The artist was 80 years old at the time, and she could not come because of her he alth condition, but she was immensely happy that she was remembered at home.

The exhibitions were a huge success, reminding everyone of a forgotten great artist who has always been devoted to classical art. Serebryakova was able, despite all the turbulent years of the first half of the 20th century, to find her own style. In those years, impressionism and art deco, abstract art and other trends dominated Europe.

Her children, who lived with her in France, remained devoted to her until the end of her life, equipping her life and helping financially. They never started families of their own and lived with her until her death at the age of 82, after which they organized her exhibitions.

Z. Serebryakova was buried in 1967 at the Saint-Genevieve de Bois cemetery in Paris.

Exhibition in 2017

ExhibitionZinaida Serebryakova in the Tretyakov Gallery - the largest in the last 30 years (200 paintings and drawings), dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the death of the artist, runs from April to the end of July 2017

The previous retrospective of her work took place in 1986, then some projects were carried out that showed her work in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and in small private exhibitions.

This time the curators of the French Foundation Fondation Serebriakoff collected a large number of works to make a grandiose exhibition, which during the summer of 2017 will be located on 2 floors of the Engineering building of the gallery.

The retrospective is arranged in chronological order, which will allow the viewer to see the various creative lines of the artist Zinaida Serebryakova, starting from the early portraits and ballet works of dancers of the Mariinsky Theater, which were made in Russia in the 20s. All her paintings are characterized by emotionality and lyrics, a positive feeling of life. In a separate room, works with images of her children are presented.

The next floor contains works created in exile in Paris, including:

• Belgian panels commissioned by Baron de Brouwer (1937-1937), who at one time were thought to have died during the war;
• Moroccan sketches and sketches, painted in 1928 and 1932;
• portraits of Russian emigrants that were painted in Paris;
• landscapes and studies of nature in France, Spain, etc.

Afterword

All the children of Zinaida Serebryakova continued their creative traditions andbecame artists and architects, working in various genres. The youngest daughter of Serebriakova, Ekaterina, lived a long life, after the death of her mother, she was actively engaged in exhibition activities and work at the Fondation Serebriakoff, died at the age of 101 in Paris.

Zinaida Serebryakova was devoted to the traditions of classical art and found her own style of painting, demonstrating joy and optimism, faith in love and the power of creativity, capturing many wonderful moments of her life and those around her.