2011/06/27

Renaissance Card players

Card players (c.1520) by the Dutch painter Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533). A mixed group of men and women are playing cards. They are gambling seriously because there’s a lot of money on the table.
To me it’s surprising how up-to-date the cards are looking totally in contrast to the renaissance dresses.

2011/06/18

Greek Heroes

The Greek heroes Achilles and Ajax are playing dice during the siege of Troja. Seems that gambling was already in ancient times the preferred pastime amusement for soldiers.

2011/06/10

Deadly Chess

Napoleon is playing chess with the Russian Winter (1975) by the German lithographer Andreas Paul Weber. And as always when someone is challenging his destiny it’s already clear who will win.