"This book accompanies an exhibition examining the relationships between two works. When seen within the context of contemporary depictions of modish women and fashionable interiors, Boucher and Chardin's paintings acquire a new resonance, showing the rise of a new manner in French genre painting. This provides an opportunity to address undercurrent themes of social history such as the artists' attitudes to fashion, interior decoration and the consumption of tea - a pastime influenced by new trade links with China."--BOOK JACKET.