Drinking Tea

 Drinking Tea by Konstantin Makovsky

Once brewed the tea has to be drunk but, oh no it is too hot.  The look on this young girls face is one of concentration and anticipation as she blows across the saucer.  I love this painting I can imagine a cold winter's day and sitting down inside to drink tea. My sender, Yulia, says the girl is dressed in Russian national clothes and is painted by the famous Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915).

Makovsky painted this in 1914, a year before he was to die in an accident between his carriage and an electric tram in St Petersburg. He was affiliated with the Wanderers group of painters who portrayed an idealised view of Russian life but in later years he came to concentrate more on artistic ideals of colours and shapes.

The card thoughtfully came with

(on the left) a samovar no doubt full of boiling water for that cup of tea. It looks a good spread, pancakes, honey, red and black caviar and a string of bagels.  I'd plump for the pancakes and honey.  The stamp is on the 2005 Europa theme of Gastronomy.

Next comes one of August 2011's "History of Russian Cossacks", this is the 'Cossacks Army of Amur'.  The Amur River forms the border between the Russian Far East and China.