Partridge hall. Peterhof

A man in a black jacket and bow tie and a young woman in a white ruffled blouse sit at a table set with teapot, cups, cakes and cured meats, both raising a hand in the same pinched-finger gesture. Behind them a palace garden opens onto fountains and gilded statues echoing their poses, cherries float unsupported in the sky, and an ornate feather-patterned curtain hangs at the right.

The paint is smooth and meticulous, with saturated colour - crimson roses along the tablecloth edge, gilded porcelain, and glowing fountain spray against a pale sky. The mirrored gestures, floating fruit and seemingly animate statues turn an otherwise realistic tea scene playful and faintly dreamlike.