Brittany. Leskonil. 1934

Serebriakova made this watercolour Brittany seascape with gentle blues, browns, and whites, and you can feel the wateriness of the paint itself. I imagine her standing on that beach, squinting, brush dancing to catch the light on the water, the shapes of the clouds and the houses in the distance. There’s something so fleeting about watercolor – it dries fast, so you have to work quickly, make decisions on the fly. The brushstrokes here feel very intuitive. The light is so well captured and rendered, and the whole scene feels airy and open. Think about those little boats with their red sails! How does she capture a sense of movement and stillness at the same time? It reminds me a little of some of the Impressionists and their fleeting impressions of light and atmosphere. Artists are always looking and learning from each other, in conversation across time. And that’s why we are all here, still looking today.