Pears on the branches 1930

Zinaida Serebriakova made “Pears on the branches” with oil on canvas, and the earth tones, ochres, and muted greens give the painting an autumnal glow. I imagine her standing in front of the tree, squinting in the sunlight, trying to capture the weight of the pears hanging heavy on the branches. The way she layers paint, you can almost feel the roughness of the bark and the waxy skin of the fruit. Look at the way she applied the paint, especially around the pears - the texture is so tangible and immediate. The leaves are kind of blurry, a wash of greens and browns that create this sense of depth, pushing the pears forward. Painters are constantly in conversation with each other, across time and space, and I wonder if Serebriakova was looking at Cezanne's still lifes when she made this painting. It’s not just about the pears, but about the process of seeing and feeling, turning that into pigment on canvas. It's like she’s sharing a secret with us about the way the world looks and feels.