2011/03/29

Vicious Cards

End of a game of cards (1856) by the French painter Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier. It’s a typical 19th century history painting illustrating anger and death as the results of gambling. Kind of Three Musketeers illustration.

2011/03/25

A Royal Game

The German emperor Otto IV playing chess with a woman. An illumination from the famous Manesse codex (1305–1340) showing that chess was always a royal game.

2011/03/20

Futuristic Chess

Here the legendary Star Trek chess. The proper quest for Spock.

2011/03/17

Nice Card Game

Card Players in a Sunlit Room by the Dutch Golden Age genre painter Pieter de Hooch. It’s an idyllic scenery which is shown here. There is nothing bad or evil in an nice card game on a sunny afternoon.

2011/03/15

Lady Fortuna

Immigrants arriving in New York. In place of Lady Liberty there is Fortuna awaiting them and from her horn of plenty are falling the dices of (probably good) luck.
So dices are used here as symbols of good luck and fortune.

2011/03/12

Playing for a Woman

Like many Greek heroes Theseus and Perithous were also great abductors of women. Here they are playing dice for Helen. Despite some are saying they are playing with Helen, I don’t think so.

An 1831 painting by Odorcio Politi.

2011/03/08

Seductive Luck

A seductive fortuna by the great American artist Robert McGinnis. She challenges, she seduces, she promises ... and she has the eyes of a demon.