Sphinxes

A stone sphinx sits atop its granite plinth beside an ornate lamppost overlooking the river, with the gilded dome of St Isaac's Cathedral rising faintly across the water. On the embankment railing to the right, two women in long dresses stand talking beside another lamppost, small against the pale sky and distant shore.

A soft, milky haze unifies sky, water, and stone in close pale blues, pinks, and greys, dissolving the far shore into light. Loose, quick strokes and a limited palette give the embankment a still, misty calm, with the sphinx's silhouette as the composition's dark anchor.