PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST IN TIMES OF CHANGE
You think you've got career problems? Russian artist Zinaida Serebriakova launched her career just as the world was starting to unravel. Self-portrait as a young art student Zinaida turned 21 during the Russian Revolution of 1905 when widespread violence, poverty and political upheaval did little to help the art market. Even bigger revolutions were just around the corner. In 1905, a young patent clerk named Albert Einstein published the theories that would overturn centuries of scientific beliefs and transform our understanding of space and time. That same year, Sigmund Freud published his revolutionary book describing how our "logical" behavior was really governed by subliminal compulsions and irrational urges. As if to confirm that the Age of Reason was truly dead, hostile nations were already spiraling toward World War I. It was in this unpromising environment that Zinaida set out in search of beauty. Zinaida brushing her hair in the mirr...
