Nude 1920

Zinaida Serebriakova made this painting, “Nude,” with what looks like oil on canvas, and it’s less about showing off fancy skills and more about getting into the nitty-gritty of painting itself. The colors here are quiet, earthy, and there’s a real focus on texture. Look at the way she handles the hair, almost like thick ropes of paint, setting up a dialogue between form and material. She doesn’t hide the process; instead, she lets you see the push and pull of the brush, the way the paint sits on the canvas, and it's as if she's saying, “Hey, this is paint, and I’m using it to make something.” There's a rawness to it, a sense of directness that reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who wasn't afraid to tackle the complexities of the body and paint with honesty. It makes you think about art as a conversation, a back-and-forth between artists, ideas, and materials, where the real meaning lies not in having all the answers, but in asking the right questions.