Olga Lyudvigovna Della-Vos-Kardovskaya was born in 1875 in Chernihiv. She took her first painting lessons at the private studio of Yegor Yegorovich Schreider in Kharkov, then continued her education at the Higher Art School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture at the Academy of Arts, in the workshop of Ilya Yefimovich Repin. There she met Dmitry Nikolayevich Kardovsky and married him. Writers, artists, and poets, who were portrayed by Olga Lyudvigovna, were frequent guests at their house. Nikolay Gumilyov dedicated poems to Olga Lyudvigovna.

Olga Lyudvigovna taught at the studio she established in Tsarskoye Selo from 1903 to 1908 and at secondary schools in Pereslavl-Zalessky from 1918 to 1922.

Della-Vos-Kardovskaya’s works are included in the collections of many museums in the country: the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of the Academy of Arts and others.

The sunny study “At the Table” by Della Vos-Kardovskaya is a fine example of Russian Silver Age fine art. Painted from life, filled with air and light, the artist conveyed a special charm, surprisingly accurately reproducing the spiritual world of people who lived at that time. The work is distinguished by the fresh perception of a simple motif, in which the artist was able to find unique appeal.

The canvas captures the quiet suburban life in a rural estate. It depicts a summer day, a terrace, a Russian samovar on the table as a symbol of hospitality, comfort and warmth. The family is on vacation. The mother reads a book, the eldest son leans at his sister’s feet and adjusts her shoe. The whitewashed walls, snow-white tablecloth, white outfits — everything speaks of purity not only external, but also spiritual. Simple and unpretentious in its narrative, the composition attracts the viewer with the sincerity of feelings and experiences. This picture is an illustration of family and artistic life.