Collioure 1930

Zinaida Serebriakova made this painting of Collioure with delicate brushstrokes and earthy tones. I can imagine her standing there, probably in the sun, thinking, "How do I capture this place?" It is an everyday scene of the town with workers out front, so full of mundane life, hauling rope. I wonder if she noticed the colors first, the sandy yellow-browns, the pale blues, the muted greens and reds. Look how she renders the figures in the foreground; they're more than just shapes; they’re active, bending, pulling. There is also a feeling of the timeless about it. It reminds me of Courbet or Corot but with something a bit more modern in the flattening of space and in the attention to the surface. Painting is a conversation, after all. I find comfort in this artist's hand, in the way they choose to see and feel. It’s a reminder that art isn’t just about representation; it’s about feeling, about the messy, beautiful act of trying to capture something real.