1887
oil on canvas
91 х 85

The painting projects the atmosphere of artistic milieau in Abramtsevo. It implements the ideal of the "gratifying", which provided the roadmap for subsequent development of Russian impressionism. In the centre is a portrait image of S.I.Mamontov's elder daughter Vera. The artist is fascinated by the harmonious inner world of that little "Muse" of the Abramtsevo Circle. Using the portrait image of the girl as the centrepiece, Serov "pieces together" fragments of the interior scene, landscape, still-life. The light pouring in through the window dissolves the contours of objects. Having placed the figure of the model against the light, Serov painted it using warm tones, which contrast with the cold tones of the space. Such impressionist solutions, coupled with the colour reflexes, broken brushstrokes, fill the image with inner movement, organized around the central compositional triangle. The painting has special appeal thanks to "reverse composition", turned to the viewer. The model's impatient posture is combined with pensiveness, buried deep in her black eyes. The artist achieves a balance between the girl's state of mind and the world around her.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 41