The Moscow artists who began to move towards Impressionism in the 1880s admired the works of the young Serov, his pastoral landscapes so clearly revealing the lyricism of modest events in daily life. Benefi ting from the instruction of his teachers, Repine and Tchistiakov, he became the fi nest Russian portraitist of his generation. His skill is evident in some of his most beautiful paintings, “Young girl with peaches” or “Ulysses and Nausicaa”. Serov’s creative work and experience opened the way for Russian painting to become part of pictorial art in the 20th century.