Most likely, the statement that gambling and art go hand in hand is reckless, but ignoring the fact that over the years, artists have used gambling in their work is also wrong. Some of the paintings even managed to gain fame, recognition and bring their creators a well-deserved monetary reward.

In the era of online gambling, it is easy to forget the ancient roots of gambling and how closely and for a long time they have accompanied human culture. China is considered the birthplace of these entertainments, which, ironically, renounced them. One way or another, gambling has spread all over the world. And although at the beginning of their journey they were fun for the rich, then they turned into mass entertainment. It is believed that this turning point occurred in the middle of the 15th century.

We decided to trace how in the history of fine arts objects, the subject of which became gambling, appeared and became fixed.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio “The Cardsharps” (“Rounders”)

The painting “Rounders” belongs to the brush of the famous Italian artist Caravaggio. Written in 1594, it became one of the first independent attempts of the artist, which he undertook after leaving the workshop of Giuseppe Cesari. Having ceased to finish the details of other people’s works, Caravaggio began to sell his own canvases through the merchant Constantino, whom the artist owes his acquaintance to Prospero Orsi.

Composition

The canvas depicts a young man, whose expensive clothes contrast sharply with the childish naivete imprinted by the artist on his face. A young man in the story plays cards with a sharpie. The viewer can guess about the fishery of the latter by the cards hidden behind the belt. The picture also depicts an assistant to a sinister swindler, who diligently peeps at the young man’s cards and, with the help of special gestures, passes information to the cheater. The impressive dagger attached to the assistant’s belt adds drama to the picture, as if hinting to the viewer that the party is unlikely to end successfully for the victim.

Note that the realism of the Rounders composition, which was the personification of street life, became a breath of fresh air in the then world of painting. This drew attention to the skill of the novice artist.

The picture was a great success, which Orsi contributed to in many ways. The latter also proclaimed the emergence of a new style, which in every possible way contributed to strengthening the reputation of Caravaggio.

Georges de La Tour “The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs”

The following painting has been called one of the greatest masterpieces of French art of the 17th century. Georges de la Tour tried with the help of a brush to depict the danger of indulging human weaknesses – alcoholic beverages, fornication and gambling. It is believed that the work of Caravaggio we reviewed served as inspiration for a re-examination of gambling topics. For example before there was no mode of play with the dealer, but now you can enjoy a live casino brazil and try for yourself, that’s where you will see quite a few games that will interest you.

Composition

Interesting

• Another autographic version of the painting “Deception with the Ace of Diamonds” shows numerous variations in the details of the composition – clothing and accessories.

In front of the viewer is a young man surrounded by three ladies, the emphasis is on the riot of colors and the incredible beauty of the costumes of the characters. Only two women take part in the game, the third is a servant. There is wine in the glasses, and playing cards in the hands. The participants in the action communicate with each other with a glance, and the young man unfolds the cards in such a way that the viewer can see their face value, as if by chance making him an accomplice in the scheme. At the same time, the second hand reaches for the ace of clubs, prudently hidden earlier behind the belt.

Jan Steen “Argument over a Card Game”

Interesting

• When trying to sell the painting, its name was changed several times. Such options are known – “Quarrel of card players”, as well as “Dispute at the card table”.

Jan Steen is a Dutch master of the everyday genre, who tried to bring instructiveness into his work, which at times was more like moralizing. The characters depicted by the artist testify to the irony of the author.

A dramatic scene from everyday life showed the drama and riot of emotions that accompany gambling.

Composition

Before the viewer is an intricate scene with the participation of many characters placed by the artist in the foreground and background. Given that Sten liked to resort to social satire, even a child and a dog take part in the bacchanalia. The table on which backgammon used to stand is now empty, and all the items necessary for gambling are scattered on the ground, as well as a decanter of wine. The main characters – representatives of different classes, which is understandable if you look closely at the clothes and accessories of each – threaten each other with different types of edged weapons. The one belonging to the privileged class grabbed a saber, and his gambling partner drew a knife. The rest of the characters in the picture are trying to prevent the fight.

Even the background and its participants are extremely important – the expression on their faces conveys the atmosphere, someone is drunk, someone is funny, there are those who are seriously scared.

Cezanne “The Card Players”

Interesting

• There are five versions of the series, each differing in size and content. One of them is in a private collection, others are in museums. In 2011, a private version was purchased by the royal family of Qatar.

The Card Players, or “Gamblers” is not one work, but a whole series of paintings by the French post-impressionist Paul Cezanne. Moreover, the ambitious project is seen as a significant contribution to contemporary art. The painting took several years to complete. Despite the fact that they were painted during one of the last periods of the artist’s work, some of them are considered classics of the French school.

Cezanne is known for his still life painting, art historians believe that he chose the theme of gambling because at that time gamblers were a form of human still life.

Composition and analysis

Each painting in the series depicts two or more Provençal peasants smoking their pipes peacefully while playing a card game. Peasants Cezanne painted on the model of workers from his own family estate.

Unlike the drunken, noisy peasants depicted on the canvases of the Dutch realistic school of genre painting, Cezanne’s peasants are completely absorbed in the game. As a rule, all the characters in the series are depicted in silence. The paintings do not depict excitement or drama; on the contrary, Cezanne’s paintings give a sense of serene calm. The art historian Roger Fry, who studied post-impressionism, described the “Gamblers” as possessing an extraordinary sense of monumental gravity, finding their center, and therefore, under no circumstances subject to movement.

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge “Dogs Playing Poker”

Further, we will not talk about one picture, but about a whole series of works by Kasius Coolidge. In total, the series is represented by 18 paintings. The original painting was titled The Poker Game and was completed in 1894, with 16 more paintings commissioned in 1903 to advertise cigars. The last painting in the series was completed in 1910. All 18 paintings contain images of dogs with human features, but only 11 have elements of gambling.

At the same time, despite the fact that the series was popular, it was also criticized, which, among other things, had the character of personal insults to the author of the canvases.

Interesting

• Coolidge’s first painting, The Poker Game, was sold at Sotheby’s in New York five years ago for $658,000.

Be that as it may, dogs with expressive emotions on their faces playing poker, as well as the corresponding surroundings – smoking pipes and glasses for whiskey – have become iconic. References to the picture began to sound in popular television shows. The works have been copied and parodied countless times. Characters have even become popular kitsch motifs, appearing on T-shirts, coffee mugs, and home decor.

Note that Coolidge is considered a landmark artist, especially in the world of popular culture. He is sometimes ironically referred to as “the most famous American artist that no one has ever heard of”.

It is not known for certain what exactly inspired the painting. Despite this, art historians believe that the composition of the image is a reference to the works of Caravaggio and Cezanne. However, at Coolidge, the peasants were replaced by dogs.

Composition

In fact, a series of paintings is the narration of one story. In Bold Bluff, the St. Bernard bets a pair of deuces, leaving his opponents to decide whether he is bluffing or not. In the next picture of the series, the opponents growl at the paw of the St. Bernard, diligently raking the winnings into a large pot.

One of the most popular paintings in the series was “A Friend in Need”. In the story, the bulldog in the foreground slides an ace towards his partner while his competitors stare absentmindedly at the table. Particular attention is drawn to the emotions reflected on the muzzle – a playful image of deception. This painting has never been sold, but its value is estimated at several million dollars.

Fernand Leger “Soldiers Playing at Cards” (“Soldiers Playing Cards”, or “Card Party”)

The French artist Fernand Leger was fond of impressionism long before he turned to abstract art. From 1910, his paintings began to contain some features of cubism, such as a monochrome palette, decoration of objects and the presence of geometric figures.

Leger’s canvas “Soldiers Playing Cards” is sometimes called “Card Party” or “Card Players” and is considered a symbol of the transition to the “mechanical” period in the artist’s work. The picture was painted after his hospitalization in Paris. During the Battle of Verdun, he was gassed. The canvas remains one of the artist’s best works on military subjects.

The work reflects the deep closeness that existed between the artist and his army brothers, and is not without some tragedy, which nevertheless is not striking.

Composition

The picture shows three soldiers sitting at a card game. The most distinguished of the military wears a medal on his chest, and his head is crowned with the traditional red hat worn by soldiers of the French army.

The second player depicted in the center, judging by the stripes on the uniform, is a sergeant, holding cards in his left hand and smoking a pipe. The third participant in the gambling game is drawn in darker colors, and instead of a cap, he has a helmet on his head. The smoke it blows out is geometric.

All three people depicted in the picture seem to be taken apart, like parts of a car. It is believed that in this way the artist tried to emphasize the mechanical nature of the trench war and the anonymity of its participants. Although the artist’s companions can be identified by small details, they are generally devoid of any human feeling. The gray palette that dominates the work and the lack of emotion defined this work. As such, the painting is considered a powerful yet demonstrative critique of the effects of the war.