In search of happiness

Two young women stand together in a dense, jewel-toned garden of red roses and orange lilies. The dark-haired woman holds a plate of cherries, while the red-haired woman beside her, in a bird-patterned tunic, rests her hands near an open, empty birdcage on chains; a glass bowl of pears and grapes sits on a pedestal at right, with small birds among the flowers.

Colour is intense and saturated, teals and magentas built up in loose, dabbed brushstrokes that dissolve the background into pure floral pattern. Faces and hands are more smoothly finished than the surrounding foliage, and the empty cage among the abundant fruit and flowers gives the scene a wistful, searching undertone beneath its vivid, decorative surface.