Study of a Russian farm

Serov at the age of 15 was sent at Repin's recommendation to study under Professor P.P. Chistiakov and spent five years at the St. Petersburg Academy, but left without graduating. At the age of twenty-two he painted 'Girl with Peaches' (1887) which is considered his Impressionistic masterpiece. He soon turned to portraiture, where his insight of human character and behaviour was revealed, and became one of the best portraitists in Russia at the end of the 19th Century. However, he continued to paint landscapes during his frequent stays in the countryside, such as the one illustrated above.