Reflecting the Neoclassical experiments of Zinaida Serebryakova in the 1910s, this picture was based on a multitude of life drawings and studies. The eleven young women depicted inside a Russian bathhouse seem to partake in a solemn ritual. The beauty of their healthy, sturdy bodies is perceived as a reflection of the inner purity. Their fresh and wholesome figures seem to radiate light, while the natural and unrestrained poses are calm and dignified. The naked bathers are equally similar to peasants, townswomen or ancient goddesses.
Pouring water slowly out of her tub, the woman in the foreground is particularly reminiscent of the sculptures of Feodosius Schedrin. Painted in warm ochre tones, the composition successfully unites the individual parts in an harmonious whole.

Serebryakova Zinaida

Serebryakova, Zinaida Yevgenyevna (1884, Neskuchnoe (Kursk Gubernia) - 1967, Paris)
Painter, graphic artist. Sister of Yevgeny Lanceray and niece of Alexander Benois. Studied under Ilya Repin at the Princess Maria Tenisheva School (1901), at Osip Braz's studio in St Petersburg (1903-1905) and the Academic de la Grande-Chaumiere in Paris (1905-1906). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1910). Contributed to the Exhibition of Modern Female Portraits (1910) and the exhibitions of the Union of Russian Artists (1910), World of Art (1911-1924; member from 1910), Russian Landscapes (1918-1919), House of Arts (1920), International Exhibition in Pittsburgh (1925) and the Exhibitions of Russian Art in New York (1924), Toronto (1925), Los Angeles (1925), Paris (1927, 1932), Brussels (1928), Berlin (1930) and Belgrade (1930). Emigrated to Paris (1924).