The type of interior genre painting characteristic of P.N. Fedotov’s art loses its poetic sentiment in this painting by N.V. Nevryov and, featuring acute social issues, acquires critical orientation. The numerous details of the furnishing, paintings on the walls, still-life on the table, at which two landlords are striking a deal, are no longer a subject of the artist’s admiration, but are of a purely documentary character. The generalised brownish colouration is also a means to fix the events and partly resembles Fedotov’s early sepias, which mix narrative with traits of criticism.