Zinaida Serebryakova is an amazing artist who was able to portray everyday life in bright colors and convey through her work the spark of life. Wonderful works of the artist conquer depth, innocence and spontaneity.
This article will be devoted to the description of Serebryakova's painting “Behind the Toilet”. We will tell how the artist wrote this work.
Zinaida Serebryakova, “Behind the Toilet”: a brief description of the painting
The composition is a self-portrait of the artist: a young woman is reflected in the mirror. The effect of presence is emphasized by the fact that the frame of the mirror and the mirrored candle are visible on the image. The artist seemed to allow the viewer to look at her with her own eyes.
The girl in the image is combing her beautiful thick hair. She is wearing a light dress, a natural and laid-back pose, she looks at herself. The look of the main character of the canvas captivates and falls in love with herself, it is filled with warmth and love of life, it seems that just now the girl will sing or sincerely laugh.
In the foreground we see perfume bottles, a blue pillow with hairpins, a box with beads, ribbons and lace napkins. A simple girl’s set speaks of the girl’s playfulness, she is young and wants to emphasize her beauty with pleasant little things.
From the description of Serebryakova’s painting “Behind the Toilet”, it can be seen that the harmony of warm colors emphasizes the freshness and youth of Zinaida Evgenievna. The love of everyday little things that surround her is visible in everything. In the background of the picture, the color scheme is more muted, cool. Behind the girl, in the opposite part of the room, stands a wash basin and a jug.
Summing up the description of Serebryakova’s painting “Behind the Toilet”, we can conclude that this work is a reflection of the artist’s inner world, her radiance and genuine female beauty.
History of writing the canvas
In the description of the painting “Behind the Toilet” by Serebryakova Zinaida Evgenievna it was already said that the artist herself was painted on this work. The girl painted a self-portrait in 1909, when she was 25 years old.
The canvas was painted during the period when Zinaida lived in the Kursk province, in the village of Neskuchnoe. As the artist herself wrote in the letters, winter that year came early, everything covered with snow. The house was cozy and very warm, inspired by the emotional atmosphere of the home, she set to painting. Today this picture is stored in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Reviews
Earlier, in the description of Serebryakova’s painting “Behind the Toilet”, it was said that the artist portrayed herself as very light and childishly playful. As noted by the famous art critic A. Savinov, this self-portrait lacks any mannerism and far-fetchedness, which was characteristic of painting at the beginning of the twentieth century. This genuine sincerity mesmerizes and makes one enjoy life just as this talented girl rejoices.
The art critic D. Sarabyanov said that in this work the most attractive is the amazing femininity of the artist. Like Savinov, Sarabyanov emphasizes the simplicity of the environment and the general clarity of the work.