Pond in Abramtsevo

Valentin Serov completed this luminous landscape in 1886 at Abramtsevo, the estate of industrial tycoon Savva Mamontov near Moscow. The property was a cultural center where artists and musicians gathered, and Serov had lived there with his family since 1875. This early work shows his gift for capturing natural light and atmosphere.

Critics called Serov's early landscapes "a new word in painting." Remarkably, when he created these works, he was unfamiliar with French Impressionism, yet came very close to Renoir in their sunny, splendidly composed quality. The painting demonstrates a more sensuous approach to landscape than his teacher Isaac Levitan, less nostalgic and more immediate.

Serov would become one of Russia's most celebrated portraitists, but his landscapes from the Abramtsevo period remain treasured examples of Russian Impressionism. This work is held at the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.