Noble feelings

Four stylized figures in elaborate historical costume stand grouped on a black-and-white tiled floor: a woman in a peach hood cradles an armful of red roses, a woman in a tall ruffled bonnet sips from a cup, a girl in a bird-patterned dress and zebra-striped hat looks on, and a man in a plumed black hat turns in profile beside her. A spotted rabbit sits at their feet.

Costumes are built from flat, patterned blocks of turquoise, coral, red and gold set against a deep maroon ground, with strong outlines and almost no shading, giving the scene a decorative, tapestry-like flatness. The stiff poses, oversized headwear and stylized faces lend the group a playful, storybook artifice.