The fish on the green 1935

Zinaida Serebriakova painted this still life, entitled "The fish on the green" sometime in the first half of the 20th century. Although Serebriakova spent much of her later life in Paris, she was born in the Russian Empire. In the early 20th century, Russian art underwent a period of rapid change, with artists exploring different styles and subjects. Serebriakova's work combines elements of realism with a more modern approach to color and composition. You can see the influence of both Russian and Western European traditions here, which is reflective of the cosmopolitanism of the Russian aristocracy to which Serebriakova belonged. The choice of subject matter is interesting too, considering that much of the population suffered hunger and food insecurity. To understand this work more fully, one could research the social and economic conditions in Russia during this time, as well as the history of still life painting in both Russia and Western Europe. These resources can help us better appreciate the complex and sometimes contradictory meanings of this beautiful painting.