Rosamond's Pond and the Pound in St James's Park

This painting by the Dutch artist Tibout Regters, which portrays men and women in the outdoors, is influenced by the conversation piece; a genre of British art which grew in popularity during the 18th century.

Conversation pieces were characterised by men and women gathering in social settings, often seated in an interior, around a table. Engaged in ameniable conversation, they would take part in fashionable pursuits, such as tea-drinking and/or card-playing. Despite the appearance of respectability, these gatherings could often mask other intentions and incite excess, as contemporary artists were well-aware. Conversation pieces were parodied by 18th-century artists such as William Hogarth and Philip Mercier.

In Regter's portrayal of a conversation piece, men and women are portrayed around a trestle table in an unidentified landscape. Although the painting was acquired as 'Rosamund's Pond and the Pound, St. James' Park', this is not the location depicted here. They are kept within the boundaries of the plot - and separated from the nearby cattle - by a fence. This compositional device is possibly a humorous observation on the artist's part on the constraints imposed by 18th century society.

Regter's painting also points to the abuse of the culture of conversation, by including a man offering a drink to an uncertain-looking woman on the right, who is observed by the dog at her feet. The temptation to over-indulge in both drink and company was at the core of satires of the genre.