Description of the picture:
House of Cards – Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova. Canvas, oil. 65 x 75.5 cm
The magnificent art masterpiece “House of Cards” was created by Z.E. Serebryakova! It is written in modern style, with a plot of the genre scene.
The painting depicts four children Z.E. Serebryakova, who build a house of cards on the table. Children look thin, emaciated and tired. The October 1919 revolution left a severe imprint on their identities. Zinaida Evgenievna wrote this work in a difficult time, when she lost her beloved spouse, her family estate and was left without a livelihood with an elderly mother and four children in her arms. And only deep faith in God gave her strength to survive and survive for the sake of a bright future for her children. A difficult life full of hardship and suffering did not break her. She found the strength to continue to work and live. Creativity saved her.
After the calamities and devastation of the October Revolution of 1917, she found work at the Archaeological Institute of Kharkov, where she made sketches of museum exhibits. Life passed in poverty and poverty, and the past scattered like a house of cards. This idea of life prompted her to create the canvas.
Children have matured and lost a lot of weight. Tanya – thin, exhausted by hunger, quiet and humble, lays cards on the table. Katya with wide eyes is watching what is happening. She is experiencing a difficult post-war situation, helplessness and despair are visible in her eyes. The boys are inactive. They are no longer interested in noisy games. They do not play ball and ball, do not run racing, do not frolic with each other. They have no spark and past enthusiasm!
On the table is a vase with cornflowers. Katya brought flowers from the field. Next to it is a disheveled doll. Nobody plays these toys, as in childhood. Everything is different now.
Zinaida Serebryakova used bright and rich dark blue colors in her artwork. They convey the depth of hidden childhood experiences. Children look at the card building with apprehension, thinking that it could collapse from any touch or breeze in the same way as their happy, past life went into oblivion.
It is interesting to contemplate the picture, reflect in solitude about the eternal. It carries warmth, warming others with divine light. Work develops imagination, imagination, strengthens memory and attention. It can be used to treat anxiety and fear. A work of art will look great in the home interior of a living room, bedroom, study."