The National Gallery tells us that Chardin reveals dignity and beauty in everyday life. The woman is preparing an invalid's meal. Each object receives careful treatment from the artist. The table setting is a harmony of white tones: jug, tablecloth, egg, and plate. Every pot, each piece of crockery has been given distinct treatment. As Diderot wrote of Chardin, "it is not white, red, or black pigment that you mix on your palette, it is the very substance of objects."