Mikhail Dakirev. Metropolitan St Peter of Moscow the Wonderworker. 1901

Metropolitan St Peter of Moscow the Wonderworker (Mikhail Dakirev, 1901)

An icon as executed by an early-20th century secular artist. It strays a bit from “Byzantine” (I hate this word… it is of western provenance, it is so off-beam it isn’t funny!) models, but, that is no sin. At least the saint doesn’t look like he’s sucking on a lemon, as the depictions found in “pure” works do all too often. 

Genrikh Manizer. Anna Karenina (From the Novel by Lev Tolstoy). 1904

Anna Karenina (From the Novel by Lev Tolstoy) (Genrikh Manizer, 1904)

Nikolai Ovchinnikov. Motherhood. 1970

Motherhood (Nikolai Ovchinnikov, 1970)

Zinaida Serebryakova. A Portrait of Yvette Choviret. 1962

A Portrait of Yvette Choviret (Zinaida Serebryakova, 1962)

Since Zinaida Serebryakova is my favourite artist, I am presenting ten works from her output, perversely offered in reverse order, that is, latest to earliest. WHY? Blame it on the Bossa Nova, the dance of love…

Zinaida Serebryakova. A Portrait of Graf Platon Zubov. 1956

A Portrait of Graf Platon Zubov (Zinaida Serebryakova, 1956)

Ms Serebryakova made her living painting portraits. She was not the only Russian émigré artist to do so, it was something of a cottage industry.

Zinaida Serebryakova. A Still Life with a Jug. 1952

A Still Life with a Jug (Zinaida Serebryakova, 1952)

A neo-Impressionist offering, of a still life.

Zinaida Serebryakova. The Luxembourg Gardens. 1946

The Luxembourg Gardens (Zinaida Serebryakova, 1946)

A nice neo-Impressionist landscape, I would say.

Zinaida Serebryakova. A Basket with Flowers. 1934

A Basket with Flowers (Zinaida Serebryakova, 1934)

Zinaida Serebryakova. Lit by the Sun. 1928

Lit by the Sun (Zinaida Serebryakova, 1928).

A very nice study of a Moroccan girl from Marrakech, probably in the suk. You would hardly know that the artist was in exile from her motherland.

Zinaida Serebryakova. The Breadseller from the Rue Lepic. 1927

The Breadseller from the Rue Lepic (Zinaida Serebryakova, 1927)

This is a work dating from the time of her Paris life in the emigration. Again, we see the concern for the dignity of the “common man” (or, should we say, “common woman”). There is a strength and groundedness in this portrayal. You are not going to fool her, thank you very much!