Keyword: «tea party»

The article examines the range of paintings of the second half of the XIX century united by their theme. Despite wide popularity of these paintings, so far, they have not been the subject of a special analysis. Author's attention is drawn to a certain strategy for representation of tea drinking, formed in Russian realistic painting. This strategy had no analogues in any other European art school: traditionally they turned to tea theme to represent ideas about comfort, family values and everyday joys. In the paintings of Russian artists of the second half of the XIX century, tea party turned into a story, that tells about social injustice. Refusal to fix the beauty and harmony of everyday life in order to achieve high social goals is considered in this article not as an artistic device, but rather as a way of reflecting national attitude to everyday human existence, as a significant feature of Russian mentality.