Dappled light filters through the garden’s foliage, imparting an evocative shimmer to the objects. The laid table, full of beautiful things, evokes thoughts of family life and domesticity. Hanna Pauli had recently studied in Paris and exhibited at the 1887 Salon. A Swedish critic, however, considered her technique too modern, and assumed that the patches of light on the tablecloth were a result of the artist “wiping her brushes on it”.