View of the Peter and Paul Fortress 1921

Zinaida Serebriakova captured this view with what looks like watercolor, and it feels like she wasn't just painting a place but also a mood. The color palette here is so interesting, mostly greys and blues, that give off this melancholic vibe, but then she hits you with these small bursts of light on the water. Look at the strokes, they’re so free and loose, like she’s trying to catch a fleeting moment. It’s like she’s not just showing us the fortress, but also the air, the light, the way the water moves. Now, check out the way she handles the water. It’s all horizontal strokes, thin washes, and you can almost feel the dampness, the constant movement. Then, zoom in on the clouds—they’re thick, almost angry, painted with these swirling, chaotic strokes. It’s a kind of conversation between chaos and calm, a dance of light and shadow. Serebriakova is doing something similar to what you see in some of Emil Nolde's watercolors, that same emotional charge, but with a Russian twist. It's like she is inviting us to contemplate what we are looking at.