Zinaida Serebryakova, 1909
Self-Portrait (Morning, brushing)
This picture should be on the bed-side table of every feminist...
Serebryakova, a junior member of the World of Art (Mir Iskusstva) Russian artistic grouping of the fin de siècle, was the first woman artist to gain world fame and recognition. Never before, and, arguably, never after a painting expressed so forcefully the feminine normality, the joy of being here and the full acceptance and enjoyment of one's own sexuality.
This one picture, first exhibited in 1910 with paintings of other contemporary Russian modernists, killed any remaining influence of decadent generation of the two preceding decades, and established a new healthy life outlook, which even today is not fully comprehended.
Coco Chanel
Somerset Maugham
D H Lawrence
