The painting projects the artistic atmosphere that reigned in Abramtsevo. It implemented the ideal of the "gratifying", which predetermined the subsequent development of Russian Impressionism. In the centre, we see a portrait image of S.I. Mamontov's eldest daughter Vera. The artist is fascinated by the harmonious inner world of that little "Muse" of the Abramtsevo circle. Around the girl’s image, Serov "pieces together" fragments of interior, landscape, still-life. The light pouring in through the window dissolves the contours of objects. Having placed the model’s figure against the light, Serov painted it using warm tones, which contrast with the cold tones of the space. These impressionist solutions, coupled with colour reflexes and separate dabs fill the image with inner movement organised around the central compositional triangle. The painting has special appeal thanks to its "inverse composition" turned to the viewer. The model's impatient posture is combined with the pensiveness that is buried deep in her black eyes. The artist achieves a balance between the girl's state of mind and the world around her.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow