Cardsharps
Artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Year Composed: 1594
Artistic Movement: Baroque
Nationality: Italy
Floor Found in Château: First Floor
Year Composed: 1594
Artistic Movement: Baroque
Nationality: Italy
Floor Found in Château: First Floor
About the Artwork
As one who uses skill or deception to win at card games, a card sharp/shark fools unsuspecting victims in these poker games to rob them of their money. Caravaggio brings this instigation to life within his 1594 painting, Cardsharps. Here, a well-dressed, wealthy young man in black and brown is seen looking down at the cards in his hand. Unbeknownst to him, the two other men around him are using trickery to rob him of his money. The figure behind the wealthy victim is holding up two fingers as a sign to his accomplice. The viewer can see the back of the accomplice, yet the victim cannot. The figure in front draws cards from behind his back, ready to play and "win" the card game. Caravaggio adds a hint of drama and tension by depicting a small dagger on the left side of the front figure. Cardsharps as well as The Fortune Teller (1595) were a pair of Caravaggio's paintings that helped raise his reputation to the art world, showing street scenes of the Italian country.
About the Artist
Better known as just Caravaggio, this Italian painter rivaled the Carracci Brothers and their Academy for setting the aesthetic tone of Baroque art. His grand canvases were not only realistic in depicting figures, objects, and nature, but also dove into a person's emotion and soul. Caravaggio used the element of chiaroscuro (which is the technique to paint extreme light tones with extreme dark tones for a dramatic contrast) to express highly-dramatic and emotional scenes within his paintings. His drama and captivating grandeur can be seen within his Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601), Judith Beheading Holofernes (1599), and the Calling of Saint Matthew (1600).
About the Movement
Cardsharps was composed in the Baroque Age of art. After the Renaissance Age, Baroque art was encouraged and influenced by the Catholic Church and the Counter Reformation to bring citizens back to Catholicism from the simple and austere Protestantism. Baroque art tended to be highly decorative and extravagant, creating dramatic scenes and vivid narratives through its painting and sculpture. Some of the most famous Baroque artists included Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Carracci Brothers (Annibale, Agostino, and Ludovico), Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and Pietro da Cortona.
Location of Original Work of Art: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America
As one who uses skill or deception to win at card games, a card sharp/shark fools unsuspecting victims in these poker games to rob them of their money. Caravaggio brings this instigation to life within his 1594 painting, Cardsharps. Here, a well-dressed, wealthy young man in black and brown is seen looking down at the cards in his hand. Unbeknownst to him, the two other men around him are using trickery to rob him of his money. The figure behind the wealthy victim is holding up two fingers as a sign to his accomplice. The viewer can see the back of the accomplice, yet the victim cannot. The figure in front draws cards from behind his back, ready to play and "win" the card game. Caravaggio adds a hint of drama and tension by depicting a small dagger on the left side of the front figure. Cardsharps as well as The Fortune Teller (1595) were a pair of Caravaggio's paintings that helped raise his reputation to the art world, showing street scenes of the Italian country.
About the Artist
Better known as just Caravaggio, this Italian painter rivaled the Carracci Brothers and their Academy for setting the aesthetic tone of Baroque art. His grand canvases were not only realistic in depicting figures, objects, and nature, but also dove into a person's emotion and soul. Caravaggio used the element of chiaroscuro (which is the technique to paint extreme light tones with extreme dark tones for a dramatic contrast) to express highly-dramatic and emotional scenes within his paintings. His drama and captivating grandeur can be seen within his Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601), Judith Beheading Holofernes (1599), and the Calling of Saint Matthew (1600).
About the Movement
Cardsharps was composed in the Baroque Age of art. After the Renaissance Age, Baroque art was encouraged and influenced by the Catholic Church and the Counter Reformation to bring citizens back to Catholicism from the simple and austere Protestantism. Baroque art tended to be highly decorative and extravagant, creating dramatic scenes and vivid narratives through its painting and sculpture. Some of the most famous Baroque artists included Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Carracci Brothers (Annibale, Agostino, and Ludovico), Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and Pietro da Cortona.
Location of Original Work of Art: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America