The dining room is an early pointillist work by Signac. Here he avidly experiments with colour and the effects of complementary pairs of colours, mainly orange and blue.
Like his friend, he no longer mixes the colours on the palette, but places them side by side on the canvas in small dots and smudges. Seen from a distance, they give the colour effect that the painter intended.

Style and Technique: The painting is an early pointillist work. Signac, influenced by Georges Seurat, experimented with colour theory by placing small dots and dabs of complementary colours (primarily orange and blue) next to each other on the canvas, rather than mixing them on the palette.

Subject: The scene depicts a woman and an older man sitting at a table, while a servant brings them mail. The man in profile smoking a cigar is Signac's grandfather, Jules, and the woman drinking coffee might be his mother.

Atmosphere: Although it is a scene of bourgeois daily life, the notable lack of interaction between the figures gives the composition a somewhat rigid and uncomfortable atmosphere.