Liberal Arts Blog — Playing Cards: Caravaggio, de La Tour, Cezanne
Liberal Arts Blog — Friday is the Joy of Art, Architecture, Design, Film, and All Things Visual Day
Today’s Topic: Playing Cards: Caravaggio (1594), de La Tour (ca.1530–4), Cezanne (1895)
This week we continue the tour of the world’s great art galleries to which I have never been. Today, we make two stops: the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth Texas (the Caravaggio and the de La Tour) and a private collection in Qatar (the Cezanne). The theme of the day is card playing. The sub-theme is the transition from classical to modern art. Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
MICHELANGELO DA CARAVAGGIO (1571–1610) — “The Cardsharps” (1594)
1. Note the card hidden in the belt of the younger card shark — as well as the dagger.
2. The older shark (or sharp) is giving the younger a signal.
3. The colors. The details. The focus. Mesmerizing.
NB: The Kimbell Art Museum, designed by Louis Kahn, is a notable structure in itself. Its stunning collection includes Leonardo da Vinci’s first ever painting which he did at age 12 or so — a depiction of St. Anthony being tormented by demons. See third and fourth links below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cardsharps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimbell_Art_Museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torment_of_Saint_Anthony
GEORGES de LA TOUR (1592–1652) “The Cheat With the Ace of Clubs” (ca. 1630–4)
1. “The cheat tips his cards toward the viewer, who thereby becomes complicit in the scheme, knowing that in the next moment, the conniving trio of cheat, maidservant, and courtesan (identified by her low-cut bodice) will prevail.”
2. “Another autograph version of this subject, Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds (Musée du Louvre, Paris), displays abundant variations in details of color, clothing, and accessories.”
3. De La Tour is best known for his candlelit religious paintings (eg. “Joseph the Carpenter” (1642), and “The Penitent Magdalene”(1625–1640). See third link below. But he also did a “Fortune Teller” and “Dice Players.”
NB: “For most of his life, La Tour remained in his native duchy of Lorraine, remote from Paris. Although he created some of the most visually compelling images of his age, soon after his death he fell into obscurity. It was only in the early twentieth century that his oeuvre began to be rediscovered.”
The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs | Kimbell Art Museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Card_Sharp_with_the_Ace_of_Diamonds
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_de_La_Tour
PAUL CEZANNE (1839–1906) “The Cardplayers” (1895) — “human still life”
1. In 2011, the Royal Family of Qatar purchased the above painting for over $250 MM, the highest price ever paid for a painting and double the previous record. The seller was George Embiricos, a Greek shipping magnate.
2. “For its $250 million, Qatar gets more than a post-Impressionist masterpiece; it wins entry into an exclusive club. There are four other Cézanne Card Players in the series; and they are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Courtauld, and the Barnes Foundation. For a nation in the midst of building a museum empire, it’s instant cred.” (first link)
3. Contrast the spareness of the Cezanne with the ornateness and drama of the Caravaggio and the de La Tour. And, then remember that Picasso called Cezanne, “The father of us all.”
NB: “The models for the paintings were local farmhands, some of whom worked on the Cézanne family estate, the Jas de Bouffan. Each scene is depicted as one of quiet, still concentration; the men look down at their cards rather than at each other, with the cards being perhaps their sole means of communication outside of work. One critic described the scenes as “human still life” while another speculated that the men’s intense focus on their game mirrors that of the painter’s absorption in his art.” (second link)
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/02/qatar-buys-cezanne-card-players-201202
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Card_Players
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