This beautiful image is the work of the French artist Pierre Bonnard. 
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He was fascinated by scenes of simple daily life and became known as an 'intimist'.
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The colours are just magical and I love that the small figure holds the tea cup in such a gentle way. The teapot takes centre stage - of course!

Love this image and words.....a really good Tetley moment!!

'Lady at the Tea Table'.... A beautiful nineteenth century painting by the American Artist, Mary Cassatt.

A serene portrait of Mary Riddle, a cousin of the artist's mother, looking elegant and well-  dressed 'taking tea', in what had become a daily ritual for the more noteworthy of women.  The story goes that the beautiful blue-and-white porcelain tea service was a gift to the artist's family and the portrait was a return gesture.  The portrait however was not liked and returned to the artist - what a shame, but at least we can now get to see it hanging in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA.


 

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This is the painting that has inspired the name I chose for my Blog…. an oil painting by the French artist Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin dated 1735. 
 
‘Lady taking Tea’ shows the artists’ wife stirring, rather thoughtfully, a cup of tea.  I would so like to join her and have a chat.  Tea drinking for me is usually a social affair, but perhaps she, Marguerite Saintard, was enjoying the warmth and comforting quality of a ritual that, even today, seems to be synonymous with ‘taking tea’. 
 
Colour plays such an important part in my everyday life so I particularly love the table, which is a rich, gorgeous red.  The teapot is sturdy and a good size…..allowing more than one cup, thankfully.  The cup and saucer are a lovely blue and white design - I’ve seen similar in so many antique and ‘vintage’ shops, and make me wish I had a large dresser to show off a collection. What a great excuse for shopping!
 
In the eighteenth century it was rather fashionable, particularly for women, to be seen partaking of this fairly new pastime. Chardin has painted the woman wearing elegant clothing, even with the addition of a pretty head garment…..I’m not sure this style would be appropriate wear for the twenty-first century tea drinker, although I do know many of my friends would love to dress up for the day and ‘partake of tea’.