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Cardsharps

Valentin de Boulogne French

ca. 1614–15

Not on view

A young dandy is taken in by street-smart cardsharps, each based on a real person playing his part impeccably in this moralizing comedy. The lesson to be drawn from the story is as obvious as the characterization of each figure is memorable. Note the caped villain. His cross-eyes were thought to be emblematic of depravity. Such scenes were also popular in street theater, where in 1632 a French visitor commented that "there are no people in the world who are better mimes and more histrionic than Italians."

Cardsharps, Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome), Oil on canvas — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Cardsharps

Artist: Valentin de Boulogne (French, Coulommiers-en-Brie 1591–1632 Rome)

Date: ca. 1614–15

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 37 3/16 × 53 15/16 in. (94.5 × 137 cm)
Frame: 46 1/16 × 62 5/8 × 3 15/16 in. (117 × 159 × 10 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

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