The cardsharp with the ace of diamonds
|
| The cardsharp with the ace of diamonds |
|---|
| Georges de la Tour , around 1620 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 106 × 146 cm |
| Louvre |
The cardsharp with the ace of diamonds is a painting by the French baroque painter Georges de la Tour .
background
Little is known about de la Tour, so the time of creation of the picture, which is 1.46 × 1.06 meters in size, can only be estimated. It is believed that he painted it around 1620 . It shows a "scene from the picaresque life": here a naive young man is (right) at a gambling associated with card for his money. De la Tour must have been fascinated by this motif, because he painted the picture twice: At first glance, both versions appear almost identical, as if they had been traced. The main difference is that the cardsharp holds a hand of clubs (fort-worth version) instead of the hand of diamonds (Louvre version) and accordingly pulls an ace of clubs from his belt.
On closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that the Louvre version is the more superior composition. However, with two exceptions:
- the anticipation of the victim, who already sees himself as the winner due to his good hand and therefore overlooks the warning signs of the environment "self-centered".
- The courtesan's cautious smile in the knowledge of the actual "balance of power", which de La Tour does without in the Louvre version in order to emphasize another message that he also makes the central theme in his painting The Fortune Teller : "Do not pay attention to external appearances , but on the deeds - beautiful people can be just as cheat as unsightly people. "
The paintings
Gambling was banned in 17th century France , but was tacitly tolerated. In a guidebook for young aristocrats published in 1661 , it was written that a “man of the world” had to take part in gambling because it would gain entry into the best circles. In fact, the young man in the picture is likely to be a son from a rich, perhaps even noble family; his splendid clothes and the gold pieces that he has placed on the table in front of him identify him as such. However, he did not choose the “best circles”. Although the dark background does not reveal anything about the location, it could just as easily be a salon as a brothel or the back room of an inn. But the game of glances shows that it's not just a cardsharger sitting here, the whole of society has conspired against the young man.
The maid who pours the wine must have looked over his shoulder (cf. her furtive glance at the young man's cards); she bends over to the fellow player sitting at the table - a courtesan - as if she wanted to whisper something to her, but actually her lips stay closed. She is probably giving an agreed sign - perhaps by the way she is holding the wine glass. Kubrick's feature film Barry Lyndon illustrates this fraud tactic . He depicts the rise and fall of an Irish knight of fortune in Europe during the Seven Years' War . However, the reference to this fraudulent maneuver could be reinforced if the painter had placed a glass filled with red wine on the table next to the victim.
The courtesan uses this signal from the maid to give instructions with her right hand, whereupon the cardsharp picks up the ace of diamonds. In addition to the play of the eyes, it is also significant how close together the three hands of the deceivers are arranged in the picture.
Which card game is actually played can only be guessed at: Poker was not yet known at the time, but there were Seventeen and Four , a forerunner of Black Jack . The ace is required to reach the maximum value of 21 with only two cards. The cardsharp will exchange one of his high cross cards for this one. By looking at the viewer from within the picture and even letting him look at his cards, he turns his audience into accomplices in the fraud. With the figure of the cardsharp it is assumed that Georges de la Tour portrayed himself here. But there is no certainty about this, there are no portraits of the painter.
Modern adaptation
Inspired by this painting , a mural was created in 2009 under the direction of Carlos Adeva (* 1974) in the capital of the Spanish Autonomous Community of Basque Country Vitoria-Gasteiz , Calle Santa María 9. It shows three people who have been labeled with Fidelitas (loyalty), Victoria (stands for the city of Vitoria) and Fraudulentus (fraud). The title of the mural “El Triunfo de Vitoria” expresses the hope that Victoria will triumph over fraud and corrupt power , also through the watchful gaze of Fidelitas , who is positioned in the mural so that she can see the cheating.
literature
- Jean-Pierre Cuzin et al .: Georges de La Tour , exhibition catalog - Galeries nationales du Grand Palais 1997–1998, Paris 1997, p. 191
- Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen: Masterpieces in Detail , Volume 2, Taschen Verlag, Cologne 2003.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pictures at home alone: The cardsharp with the ace of diamonds. In: SRF mySchool. January 16, 2019, archived from the original on January 16, 2019 ; accessed on January 28, 2019 .
- ↑ CARLOS ADEVA - Ars Gratia Artis. Retrieved May 7, 2019 .
- ↑ itinerario muralístico: El Triunfo de Vitoria. Retrieved May 5, 2019 .