Serafima Riangina

Born Feb 13 (25), 1891, in St. Petersburg; died June 16, 1955, in Moscow. Soviet painter. Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1955).

Riangina studied in St. Petersburg at the studio of la. F. Tsionglinskii from 1910 to 1912, at the Academy of Arts from 1912 to 1918, and with D. N. Kardovskii from 1921 to 1923. In 1923 she moved to Moscow, where she became a member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia in the following year. Riangina’s paintings in many ways derived from the traditions of Russian genre painting. The artist depicted the work and everyday life of common Soviet people, whom she portrayed as full of vitality. At the same time, Riangina skillfully and unpretentiously depicted what was typical of the new Soviet life. She also painted landscapes and still lifes. Her works included In the Artist’s Workshop (1927), The Worker’s Lunch (1927), Worker-Inventor (1929), Girl Friends (1945), and Ever Higher! (1934). The first four works are in the Tret’iakov Gallery, and the last work is in the Kiev Museum of Russian Art.