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拍品專文
Throughout his prolific career Teniers frequently treated the subject of tavern interiors with card games, often featuring a group of players and bystanders in the manner seen here, taking up a theme popularised by Adriaen Brouwer in the 1630s. In many of these, including the present canvas, Teniers used an L-shaped arrangement, a compositional scheme he favoured from relatively early on in his career, with the principal action taking place in the shallower foreground space, and subsidiary figures in the receding part of the interior. An excellent example is the celebrated Card Players (Le Bonnet Blanc) of 1644 formerly in the Holford collection (see M. Klinge, David Teniers the Younger: paintings, drawings, exhibition catalogue, Antwerp, 1991, no. 33). As noted by Klinge, his frequent return to this subject reflects his interest in exploring different solutions to the same artistic problem, or ‘nuances in variations played on a single theme.’ (Klinge, ibid., p. 116).
Teniers was a sharp observer of human nature. Here the primary focus of the composition is the game of cards taking place in the foreground. He has captured a moment of high tension in the game as the man in red sits up straight, cards in his right hand, the left by his thigh; ready to take his turn, he stares intently at his opponent’s face as if willing him to lose, while the old man slowly takes a card out from his hand. The serious nature of the competition, and the intensity of these two players, is in direct contrast to the relaxed and distracted observers. The inclusion of a still life element in the foreground was a favourite Teniers motif: here he showcases his touch with the fine rendering of the haphazardly scattered workmen’s tools to the right.
We are grateful to Dr Margret Klinge for confirming the attribution to David Teniers on first-hand inspection.
Teniers was a sharp observer of human nature. Here the primary focus of the composition is the game of cards taking place in the foreground. He has captured a moment of high tension in the game as the man in red sits up straight, cards in his right hand, the left by his thigh; ready to take his turn, he stares intently at his opponent’s face as if willing him to lose, while the old man slowly takes a card out from his hand. The serious nature of the competition, and the intensity of these two players, is in direct contrast to the relaxed and distracted observers. The inclusion of a still life element in the foreground was a favourite Teniers motif: here he showcases his touch with the fine rendering of the haphazardly scattered workmen’s tools to the right.
We are grateful to Dr Margret Klinge for confirming the attribution to David Teniers on first-hand inspection.