The girl with peaches who gave the name. Description of the painting “Girl with Peaches” B

And you are familiar with at least several of their paintings. But when it comes to impressionism with Russian roots, it turns out that most of our contemporaries have a very vague idea of ​​what shoots these roots gave. With realism - everything is in order here! Russian artists showed truthfully... angrily denounced... called with their paintings... and so on. Undoubtedly, they showed, denounced, and called, but they also felt and conveyed sensations in their works. The work of many Russian painters is directly related to impressionism, and their works are recognized by world art criticism as bright and worthy examples of this direction.

One of the very first paintings created in this direction in Russia was a portrait of Vera Mamontova, which is known as “Girl with Peaches.”

Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov entered the chronicles of Russian painting as a wonderful landscape painter, a master of canvases on historical and everyday themes.

But a special place in the list of the artist’s paintings includes his numerous portraits.

Famous statesmen and figures of literature and art, society ladies and very young girls, charming children and images of people wise with life experience - from their faces, framed, you can create an entire art gallery.

But if we imagine that a huge number of these portraits were not created, but only one was painted, then even then the artist’s name would not be “lost,” because such a face simply cannot help but pay attention.

“Girl with Peaches,” which is considered one of the most famous paintings in Russian painting, was painted by Valentin Serov when he was only 22 years old. It was the summer of 1887, the artist had recently returned from a trip to Italy, and the bright impressions of the sunny country, amazing architecture and brilliant Italian art overwhelmed him. He wrote:

“In the present century they write everything that is difficult, but I want, I want, joyful things, and I will write only joyful things.”

The estate of the famous Russian philanthropist Savva Mamontov, Abramtsevo, has always been such a “pleasant” place for the artist. In this family, Serov was known and loved from his youth; his friends came there to paint the most beautiful surrounding landscapes, and the very atmosphere of the hospitable manor’s estate was conducive to creativity.

For the next painting, the artist chose a very young model - the daughter of the owner of the house, Vera Mamontova. The twelve-year-old girl was not a beauty, but her face with bright lips, dark “currant” eyes and a delicate blush simply begged to be painted. In working on it, the artist used techniques characteristic of impressionism: plein air painting, a subtle color palette, light pouring from the windows, which creates a luminous halo around the figure sitting at the table.

But in this work there are not only techniques - they would not be worth much without the most important thing - Valentin Serov managed to convey a momentary feeling of happiness, youth, the joy of being. Looking at the picture, one gets the impression that this is a randomly snatched “frame” from life, seen by the attentive and friendly eyes of the artist: that a maple leaf was fluttering on a branch just recently, that a peach with a ruddy side will soon be eaten, and the tablecloth was wrapped on the table because that there are small children in the house who could pull her down to the floor. The master’s “living” brush captured just one moment of a wonderful summer day and the serene life of a teenage girl. Art critic Mark Kopshitzer very accurately said about this feeling:

“...life continues outside the picture and forms the beginning of a big world that is not included in the canvas, where there are chairs, and tables, and other peaches, and other girls”

The painting was highly praised by critics, who were unanimous in the opinion that it was painted in the tradition of impressionism, and a master of European caliber appeared in Russian painting. The artist gave this painting to Vera’s mother, and it hung for a long time in the very room where the painting was painted. It is currently exhibited at the Tretyakov Gallery.

Vera Mamontova subsequently had to pose for great painters more than once. So, two of her portraits were painted by the Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov.

Unfortunately, this wonderful woman passed away early, at the age of 33. Her husband, leader of the Moscow provincial nobility, and then chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Alexander Dmitrievich Samarin, had a hard time with the loss. He remained faithful to the Faith until the end of his life, and in memory of her, in the village of Averkievo, he built the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in the style of the 17th century.

Many members of the famous Abramtsevo circle took part in its design; for example, the tiles were made according to sketches. Currently, this is one of the many operating churches in the Moscow region.

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Sometimes it is better not to know the life history of the prototypes of characters in famous works. The girl with the peaches actually lived only 32 years (she died of pneumonia), her husband never remarried, and three children remained. The future in the eyes of the heroine of Valentin Serov’s film cannot be read. It is not even clear from her that she is the daughter of a wealthy industrialist.

1 girl. The mischievous nature of Vera Mamontova can be read both in her sly gaze and in the fold of her lips - you’re about to laugh. Disheveled hair, a blush all over her face, and a glowing earlobe indicate that she has just been running around the yard. And in a minute he will jump up and run further. However, this was her first experience of posing for a long time. Art critic Eleanor Paston says: “It is believed that Vrubel gave her external features to “The Snow Maiden,” “The Egyptian,” and Tamara in the illustrations for “The Demon.” Vera Savvishna was eventually nicknamed the “Abramtsevo goddess.” Vasnetsov also painted her portraits (“Girl with a Maple Branch”, “Hawthorn”).

2 blouse. Vera is wearing casual clothes, although decorated with a bright bow. The loose blouse seems a little baggy and too childish for an 11 year old girl. The fact that she does not change clothes specifically for posing emphasizes the spontaneity of the situation and the simplicity of the relationship. The pink blouse becomes the brightest and most festive accent of the picture, and it seems that the light comes not only from the window, but also from the heroine.

3 room. The scene is the Mamontovs’ dining room in the Abramtsevo estate, one of the enfilade rooms.

4 table. There were always a lot of people around the large extendable table - family members and friends. Eleanor Paston says that Serov often worked here.

5 peaches grown in the Mamontov greenhouse. The family bought trees for her from the Artemovo and Zhilkino estates in 1871. The peaches were grown by an Artemovsk gardener, whom the Mamontovs invited to their place after he sold them the trees.

6 maple leaves. Serov completed work on the portrait in September. The yellowing leaves outside the window and on the table are evidence of the girl’s long patience. In addition, autumn maple leaves next to summer peaches seem to remind you: life is fleeting, and you should be happy while you are young and the sun is shining.

7 grenadier. The toy wooden soldier in the left corner is a product of Sergiev Posad artisans. According to Elena Mitrofanova, Deputy Director for Science at the Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve, the Mamontovs bought the toy from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in 1884. The figurine was unpainted; Serov painted it. The Abramtsevo Museum even has a sketch of the painting made by the artist. The Grenadier still stands on the nightstand in the same corner.

8 red living room. The neighboring room, part of which is visible on the left, is the so-called Red Living Room, where writers and artists, friends of the Mamontovs, gathered. There they read by role the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, played music, and discussed.

9 chairs. The Mamontovs inherited good-quality mahogany chairs from the Aksakovs, along with the tradition of artistic gatherings. Those two that stand by the window - with backs in the shape of a lyre - were very fashionable at the beginning of the 19th century, and at the end of it they had already turned into antiques. A Jacob style chair is visible in the Red Drawing Room. Similar furniture with strict straight outlines, with gilded brass inserts, appeared in Russia under Catherine II. In Abramtsevo both the lyre chairs and the Jacob, which still stands in the Red Drawing Room, have been preserved.

10 dining room windows, like the terrace adjacent to the Red Living Room, opens onto Abramtsevo Park, onto the alley named Gogolevskaya in honor of the writer who loved to walk here. It is clear that the window frames are far from new; the paint on them has peeled off in some places. This adds naturalness to the picture and a feeling of that coziness that can only be experienced within the “native walls”.

11 plate. Savva Mamontov was fond of applied arts. In 1889, he even opened a pottery workshop at the estate, in which ceramic products were created using the majolica technique. In particular, Vrubel was involved in this. The fate of the plate, depicted by Serov two years before the opening of the workshop, is unknown, but it fits so harmoniously into the interior that later another majolica plate, this time from the Mamontovs’ workshop, appeared on the same wall. It still hangs in the dining room in this place.

On an August day in 1887, 11-year-old Vera Mamontova, distracted from street games, ran into the house and sat down at the table, grabbing a peach. Her cheerful appearance impressed Valentin Serov so much that he invited the girl to pose. The artist knew the model from infancy. He often visited and even lived for a long time at the Mamontovs’ Abramtsevo estate, which they bought from the daughter of the writer Sergei Aksakov in 1870. Even under the Aksakovs, the estate was the center of Russian cultural life. Under the Mamontovs, the traditions continued. Turgenev, Repin, Vrubel, Antokolsky stayed here... Abramtsevo was both a “house of creativity” and a place where friends gathered in an atmosphere of home comfort.

Serov was first brought to Abramtsevo by her mother-composer in 1875. He grew up with the older Mamontov children, constantly enduring their pranks. The younger Vera also made fun of young Serov. Everything changed in 1887, when the 22-year-old artist returned from Italy, inspired by sunny landscapes and Renaissance masterpieces. Then Serov, according to his recollections, was in a daze in his head and the desire to “write only what is gratifying.” Until recently, the artist was an involuntary participant in Vera’s games, and now the one whom until now no one could force to sit still, posed for him for hours every day for almost two months. On the girl’s part, it was a tribute to close family relationships. And the painting was “a kind of gratitude from Serov to the warmth and comfort of the Mamontovs’ house, which became a second family for the artist,” says Eleanor Paston, Doctor of Art History, senior researcher at the Tretyakov Gallery.

“There are creations of the human spirit that outgrow many times the intentions of their creators... Among these... we must include that amazing Serov portrait. From the sketch of “a girl in pink”... it has grown into one of the most wonderful works of Russian painting,” artist Igor Grabar wrote about the painting.

Valentin Serov gave the painting to Vera's mother, Elizaveta Mamontova, and for a long time the portrait was in Abramtsevo, in the same room where it was painted. Now a copy hangs there, and the original is exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Model

Vera Savvishna Mamontova depicted in the painting (October 20, 1875 - December 27, 1907) is the daughter of Savva Ivanovich Mamontov and his wife Elizaveta Grigorievna.

In 1896 (when Vera was 21 years old), Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov painted another portrait of her - “Girl with a Maple Branch.” In addition, Serov painted several more portraits of Praskovya Mamontova, Vera Mamontova’s cousin.

Vasnetsov V. M. Girl with a maple branch (Portrait of Vera Savvishna Mamontova)
1896 Wikimedia Commons

In November 1903 in Moscow she married A.D. Samarin. After a honeymoon to Italy, the newlyweds settled in their house in the city of Bogorodsk. Three children were born in the marriage:

* son Yuri (1904-1965) - philologist, suspected of collaboration with the OGPU during the times of repression. This fact is largely confirmed in the autobiographical book of Alexei Artsybushev, “The Doors of Mercy”;

* daughter Elizaveta, married to Chernyshev (1905-1985) - author of memoirs;

* son Sergei (1907-1913).

Five years after the wedding, at the end of December 1907, at the age of 32, she fell ill with pneumonia and died three days later. She was buried in Abramtsevo near the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

Artist
Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov

Self-portrait. 1901
Wikimedia Commons

1865 - Born in St. Petersburg.
1874 - Began taking painting lessons from Repin in Paris.
1880 - Entered the Academy of Arts.
1887 - Traveled to Vienna and Italy. Wrote "Girl with Peaches."
1894 - Became a member of the Association of Itinerants.
1900 - Joined the World of Art association.
1903 - Elected full member of the Academy of Arts.
1905 - Resigned from the Academy in protest against the shooting of the demonstration on January 9, accusing the president of the Academy (and at the same time the commander of the troops of the St. Petersburg Military District) of organizing it.
1908 - Elected full member of the Vienna Secession.
1911 - Died in Moscow from a heart attack.

Sometimes it is better not to know the life history of the prototypes of characters in famous works. The girl with the peaches actually lived only 32 years (she died of pneumonia), her husband never remarried, and three children remained. The future in the eyes of the heroine of Valentin Serov’s film cannot be read. It is not even clear from her that she is the daughter of a wealthy industrialist.

1 GIRL. The mischievous character of Vera Mamontova can be read both in her sly gaze and in the fold of her lips - you’ll laugh at any moment. Disheveled hair, a blush all over her face, and a glowing earlobe indicate that she has just been running around the yard. And in a minute he will jump up and run further. However, this was her first experience of posing for a long time. Art critic Eleanor Paston says: “It is believed that Vrubel gave her external features to “The Snow Maiden,” “The Egyptian,” and Tamara in the illustrations for “The Demon.” Vera Savvishna was eventually nicknamed the “Abramtsevo goddess.” Vasnetsov also painted her portraits (“Girl with a Maple Branch”, “Hawthorn”).

2 BLOUSE. Vera is wearing casual clothes, although decorated with a bright bow. The loose blouse seems a little baggy and too childish for an 11 year old girl. The fact that she does not change clothes specifically for posing emphasizes the spontaneity of the situation and the simplicity of the relationship. The pink blouse becomes the brightest and most festive accent of the picture, and it seems that the light comes not only from the window, but also from the heroine.

ROOM 3. The scene is the Mamontovs’ dining room in the Abramtsevo estate, one of the enfilade rooms.

4 TABLE. A lot of people always gathered around the large extendable table - family members and friends. Eleanor Paston says that Serov often worked here.

5 PEACHES grown in the Mamontov greenhouse. The family bought trees for her from the Artemovo and Zhilkino estates in 1871. The peaches were grown by an Artemovsk gardener, whom the Mamontovs invited to their place after he sold them the trees.

6 MAPLE LEAVES. Serov completed work on the portrait in September. The yellowing leaves outside the window and on the table are evidence of the girl’s long patience. In addition, autumn maple leaves next to summer peaches seem to remind you: life is fleeting, and you should be happy while you are young and the sun is shining.

7 GRENADIER. The toy wooden soldier in the left corner is a product of Sergiev Posad artisans. According to Elena Mitrofanova, Deputy Director for Science at the Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve, the Mamontovs bought the toy from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in 1884. The figurine was unpainted; Serov painted it. The Abramtsevo Museum even has a sketch of the painting made by the artist. The Grenadier still stands on the nightstand in the same corner.

8 RED LIVING ROOM. The neighboring room, part of which is visible on the left, is the so-called Red Living Room, where writers and artists, friends of the Mamontovs, gathered. There they read by role the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, played music, and discussed.

9 CHAIRS. The Mamontovs inherited good-quality mahogany chairs from the Aksakovs, along with the tradition of artistic gatherings. Those two that stand by the window - with backs in the shape of a lyre - were very fashionable at the beginning of the 19th century, and at the end of it they had already turned into antiques. A Jacob style chair is visible in the Red Drawing Room. Similar furniture with strict straight outlines, with gilded brass inserts, appeared in Russia under Catherine II. In Abramtsevo both the lyre chairs and the Jacob, which still stands in the Red Drawing Room, have been preserved.

10 WINDOW The dining room, like the terrace adjacent to the Red Living Room, opens onto Abramtsevo Park, onto the alley named Gogolevskaya in honor of the writer who loved to walk here. It is clear that the window frames are far from new; the paint on them has peeled off in some places. This adds naturalness to the picture and a feeling of that coziness that can only be experienced within the “native walls”.

11 PLATE. Savva Mamontov was fond of applied arts. In 1889, he even opened a pottery workshop at the estate, in which ceramic products were created using the majolica technique. In particular, Vrubel was involved in this. The fate of the plate, depicted by Serov two years before the opening of the workshop, is unknown, but it fits so harmoniously into the interior that later another majolica plate, this time from the Mamontovs’ workshop, appeared on the same wall. It still hangs in the dining room in this place.

On an August day in 1887, 11-year-old Vera Mamontova, distracted from street games, ran into the house and sat down at the table, grabbing a peach. Her cheerful appearance impressed Valentin Serov so much that he invited the girl to pose. The artist knew the model from infancy. He often visited and even lived for a long time at the Mamontovs’ Abramtsevo estate, which they bought from the daughter of the writer Sergei Aksakov in 1870. Even under the Aksakovs, the estate was the center of Russian cultural life. Under the Mamontovs, the traditions continued. Turgenev, Repin, Vrubel, Antokolsky stayed here... Abramtsevo was both a “house of creativity” and a place where friends gathered in a homely atmosphere.

Serov was first brought to Abramtsevo by her mother-composer in 1875. He grew up with the older Mamontov children, constantly enduring their pranks. The younger Vera also made fun of young Serov. Everything changed in 1887, when the 22-year-old artist returned from Italy, inspired by sunny landscapes and Renaissance masterpieces. Then Serov, according to his recollections, was in a daze in his head and the desire to “write only what is gratifying.” Until recently, the artist was an involuntary participant in Vera’s games, and now the one whom until now no one could force to sit still, posed for him for hours every day for almost two months. On the girl’s part, it was a tribute to close family relationships. And the painting was “a kind of gratitude from Serov to the warmth and comfort of the Mamontovs’ house, which became a second family for the artist,” says Eleanor Paston, Doctor of Art History, senior researcher at the Tretyakov Gallery.

“There are creations of the human spirit that outgrow many times the intentions of their creators... Among these... we must include that amazing Serov portrait. From the sketch of “a girl in pink”... it has grown into one of the most remarkable works of Russian painting.”, - artist Igor Grabar wrote about the painting.

Valentin Serov gave the painting to Vera's mother, Elizaveta Mamontova, and for a long time the portrait was in Abramtsevo, in the same room where it was painted. Now a copy hangs there, and the original is exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery.

What was the fate of the girl?

Nine years after “Girl with Peaches,” Viktor Vasnetsov painted another portrait of Vera, promising to give it to her only if she marries a Russian.

Soon the gift was already hanging above her husband’s desk: Vera married Alexander Dmitrievich Samarin, the future chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod (Minister for Church Affairs) and leader of the nobility of the city of Moscow.

His popularity among Orthodox Muscovites was so great that when a metropolitan was elected in Moscow in the summer of 1917, among the candidates were: Archbishop Tikhon of Yaroslavl (later elected Patriarch) and layman Alexander Samarin.

They got married in Moscow on Povarskaya in the Church of Boris and Gleb - this was the parish of the Samarins, who lived nearby. Later the church was destroyed by the Bolsheviks, now there is a chapel on this site - right next to the exit from the Arbatskaya metro station.

Everyone was happy for them - the young people had loved each other for a long time, but they were able to get married only after the death of Alexander Dmitrievich’s father, who for many years did not consent to his marriage with Vera.

The newlyweds settled on their estate near the village of Averkievo, Pavlo-Posad district. And in April 1904, the Samarins had their first child, Yurochka.

In August 1905, a daughter, Liza, was born, and in May 1907, a second son, Sergei.

And on December 27, 1907, Vera Savvichna suddenly died from transient pneumonia. It burned down in three days. The whole family was going to Abramtsevo for Christmas, we stopped while passing through our Moscow house on Povarskaya and...

She was buried in her beloved Abramtsevo, near the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands. Vera was only 32 years old.

Her sister Alexandra Savvishna took upon herself all the care of the children. Here she is in the photo, first on the left. Nearby are Savva Mamontov with Vera’s children - Seryozha, Lisa and Yuri. Italy, 1910.

Alexander Dmitrievich outlived Vera by 25 years. He never married again. In memory of his beloved wife, Samarin built the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in the village of Averkievo, not far from their estate.

In the 30s, the temple was closed and looted and throughout the years of Soviet power it was used as a utility room, including for storing various chemical fertilizers. Now, thanks to the efforts of parishioners, sponsors and patrons of the arts, the temple has almost been restored.

Alexander Dmitrievich himself died in the Gulag in 1932.
His daughter, Lisa, spent all the years of Yakut exile with him.

In 1887, the artist Valentin Serov painted his famous painting “Girl with Peaches”. Let's talk about it, about the history of its creation, about the place, time and fate of those people who are somehow connected with it. We will also point out curious moments and minor inaccuracies that exist in this work of art. We hope that the outstanding painter and graphic artist V. Serov will forgive us for this.

So, you probably need to start with a place and time. The painting was painted in just under 2 months - from August to the end of September 1887. The scene is the estate of the merchant Mamontov in the Moscow region (not far from Sergiev Posad).

In those years, the estate of Savva Ivanovich Mamontov deservedly bore the unofficial title of the cultural center of the Russian Empire. Such famous artists and writers as Turgenev, Repin, Vrubel, Levitan and many others stopped, visited and lived here. Here artists painted, often the children of the owner of the house, of whom he had as many as five. The main character of "Girls with Peaches" - Vera Mamontova - was drawn several times. In addition to Serov, a little later Vera was portrayed by Vasnetsov in the painting “Girl with a Maple Branch.” Artists also borrowed her image to create other paintings, sketches and illustrations.
At the time of writing “Girl with Peaches,” Serov was 22 years old and had just returned from Italy, where he was inspired by the works of famous Italian masters. Once he found an overly active, restless, 11-year-old Vera in the dining room, who stopped for a second to take a peach from the table. The fact that the girl has just been running is clearly noticeable in the picture by the blush that is present on her cheeks and on her earlobe, as well as by some disheveled clothing and hairstyle. Serov was fascinated by this childish spontaneity frozen for a moment and asked the girl to pose for him - this is what the background to the creation of this painting looks like.

It must be said that all the objects and furnishings in the dining room are not fictitious and correspond to what was actually there at that time. The plate on the wall, the toy grenadier behind Vera’s shoulder (Serov also painted it), the chairs are still preserved. The Mamontov estate today is part of the museum-reserve complex and all these items are located there.

Are there really any inaccuracies in this wonderful picture, which holds the gaze like a magnet? What should you pay attention to when considering it?

First, this is the girl's face. We must pay tribute to Serov - he perfectly managed to convey her mood and desires. The girl looks questioningly, and it is obvious that she is waiting for her to be released. She finds it difficult to sit still and can't wait to go play with her brothers and sisters. At the same time, if you do not know that an 11-year-old girl is depicted, then an uninitiated person may have serious problems determining her age.

The girl's facial features do not give an exact answer to the question of her age - it could be 10 or 18 years old or even older. Thick eyebrows only encourage the opinion that this is more likely not a child, but an adult. The age could be determined indirectly, based on a comparison of the pieces of furniture in the room with the girl’s height, however, this comparison does not indicate that the girl is only 11 years old. Vera's elbows are located quite high above the level of the table, and the backs of the chairs are at the level at which they would be if adults were sitting at these chairs.

Most likely, at some point, Serov realized that he was not getting a girl for his age, and decided to correct this small mistake by putting on Vera an awkward pink robe with a huge bow, which would be somehow frivolous for an adult to wear. In addition to the fact that the jacket significantly rejuvenated the main character of the picture, it has one more advantage - it serves as an additional source of light and fits very well into the popular style of painting of that time - with highlights, reflections, play of light and shadow. So, in general, we can say that Serov very cleverly and skillfully got out of a difficult situation for himself.

The second point you should pay attention to is the table. The plane of Serov’s tabletop is not parallel to the floor and slopes towards the bottom of the picture. There is a feeling that peaches are about to roll down it into our hands. It is possible that the change of season played a cruel joke on the painter here. The sun was getting lower and lower in the fall, the lighting and shadows on the table were constantly changing, which misled the artist. As a result, not only the table, but the entire geometry of space in the picture looks easily distorted.

Well, there is a final point that could cause bewilderment, but there is a quite plausible explanation for it: where did peaches come from in the Moscow region, at the end of the 19th century, in the midst of autumn? (It’s not difficult to guess that it’s autumn - there are yellow leaves on the table, and autumn yellowness can be seen outside the window). The thing is that on the Mamontov estate there was a greenhouse where peach trees were successfully grown and bear fruit (as you can see). The only thing that is not clear here is when was the harvest harvested? Most likely not in the fall, but in the summer, at the time the painting began. Serov added autumn leaves, adapting to the time of year.

The fate of the main character of the film, unfortunately, turned out sadly. According to testimonies, Vera Savvishna Mamontova was a cheerful and bright person, but the Lord gave her only 32 years of life. Pneumonia in those days spared no one and often left people no chance. Her three children were left orphaned.

• Plan:
• 1. Introduction.
• 2. The history of the creation of the painting.
• 3. Description of the girl in the picture.
• 4. Description of the room.
• 5. The fate of Vera.

In a large, bright room, a girl is sitting near a table with a peach in her hands. Her black, unruly hair is disheveled, and her dark eyes look directly at the viewer. This thoughtfully sly look is familiar to many from the description of the painting “Girl with Peaches” by Serov.

The girl depicted in the picture is called Verusha Mamontova. The young artist Serov first saw her, the daughter of a famous Moscow entrepreneur, at the age of 11. A girl with a peach in her hand ran into the room - and the artist invited her to pose. Thus a great painting was born.

Serov himself was still quite a few years old at that time: only 22. “Girl with Peaches” became one of his first famous paintings. The artist recalled that this work was not easy for him. He wrote to Vera for two whole months. The restless girl quickly got tired of posing. And Serov really wanted to paint her exactly as he saw her. Lively, cheerful and young. And he succeeded: until the artist’s death he will be recognized by this work.

Vera Mamontova sits at a table covered with a white tablecloth. There is a knife and several ripe large peaches on the table. When you first look at them, you are tempted to take a peach in your hands, twirl it and then bite it. That’s exactly what the girl did - she took one of the fruits and folded her hands on it. But she’s clearly not thinking about the peach. This is evidenced by both her pose and her gaze, going somewhere into the distance. Vera is dressed in a soft pink blouse, set off with a large black bow. It seems to me that this bow plays a big role in this picture. This is the detail that reveals Vera’s character, bright and full of surprises.

And the room around the girl is filled with light and warmth. Soft pinks, golds and blues flow into one another. Even the dark brown backs of the chairs show reflections of the sun. It is immediately clear that a joyful childhood is taking place here. Subsequently, Serov gave the painting to the girl’s mother, and the canvas hung for a long time in the very room that was painted on it.

But what happened to the fate of Vera herself? Before writing an essay on the painting “Girl with Peaches” by Serov, I wanted to read about it. She would live a happy but short life and die at 32. Only a painting will survive of her beauty...

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