Elena Genrikhovna Guro had a special view of the world as a single organic whole. For her, every creature of nature, be it a plant, a stone, or an object, had its own life and soul. She believed that nothing should be harmed in order to preserve the fragile beauty and harmony of life.

Guro had a strong influence on Mikhail Vasilyevich Matyushin’s worldview. When it came to art, Elena Guro was particularly interested in the works of Modernists and Expressionists. Modernism provided a special interpretation of nature through the stylization and “philosophical” form. Impressionism taught Elena Guro to have a direct connection with nature and strive for an accurate rendering of what she saw.

Guro was greatly interested in a series of works by Yelena Dmitriyevna Polenova, in which she used floral patterns and stylized images of flowers. Elena Guro wrote about these works,

Elena Guro’s philosophical views were also reflected in a large decorative panel “Sprouts”, which echoes Polenova’s ornaments but is imbued with its own special meaning. This programmatic work depicts the growth and movement of organic forms.

The two worlds are separated by solid ground. Here, in the gloomy underworld, which blocks the sunlight, small sprouts come to life. Their stems are fragile and weak — it seems they will not have enough strength to make their way to the sun and rise to the surface. Then a miracle happens: the plants begin to flower, they uncurl and straighten their stems, and a blue flower is in full bloom in the middle of the picture.

But even this world above the ground has no sky and no sunlight — the painting’s sad coloring is built on the combination of brown and dark green tones. The frame seems to limit the stems in their development and growth. In order to reach the light, they have to continue making their way upward. Most likely, this painting reflects Guro’s inner thoughts and her painful condition. She had to fight for her life, but the incurable leukemia was taking over without mercy.