The Card Players, probably c. 1550/1599

Provenance

(Van Diemen Gallery, Berlin, by 1923); (sold, Christie's, London, 20 May 1926, no. 269, as by Van Leyden); bought by Asscher and Welker, London). [1] Acquired from "Sarasota" 19 November 1928 by (Galerie Julius Böhler, Munich).[2] (Tomas Harris Gallery, London, by 1935).[3] Private Collection, Switzerland, by 1945.[4] (Frederick Mont, New York); sold 18 October 1951 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1961 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1935

Exhibition of Early Flemish Paintings, Tomas Harris Gallery, London, 1935, no. 19, as Lucas van Leyden.

1945

Meisterwerke holländischer Malerei des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts, Öffentliche Kunstsammlung (Kunstmuseum), Basel, 1945, no. 43, as Lucas van Leyden.

1998

A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998, no. 36, fig. 19.

Technical Summary

The painting, composed of two boards with the grain running horizontally, is very badly damaged and extensive retouching is present throughout. The largest areas of loss are in the robe of the man at the far right, the sleeves of the seated woman at the center, and in the face of the man standing behind her. X-radiography suggests that generally the losses exist in both the paint and ground layers. Examination with infrared reflectography reveals underdrawing. The painting was cleaned and restored by Mario Modestini in 1954.

On the reverse is a reattached label, with the following in italic script: et is ferrarius ante xit/ acrí ingenio. / G. C. Beiriu (?)

Bibliography

1924

Friedländer, Max J. Die altniederländische Malerei 14 vols. 1924-1937. Berlin, 1932: 10:95, 137, no. 142, pl. 87. (English ed., 14 vols., 1967-1976. Leiden, 1973: 10:54, 84, no. 142, pl. 109.)

1936

Hoogewerff, G. J. De Noord-Nederlandsche Schilderkunst. 5 vols. The Hague, 1939: 3:259.

1956

Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 118, no. 45, repro., as by Lucas van Leyden.

1956

Walker, John. "The Nation's Newest Old Masters." The National Geographic Magazine 110, no. 5 (November 1956): 628-629, color repro. 653.

1957

Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 107, 123, as by Lucas van Leyden.

1958

Nicolson, Benedict. Hendrick Terbrugghen. London, 1958: 84.

1959

Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 321, repro., as by Lucas van Leyden.

1960

Baird, Thomas P. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art 7. Washington, D.C., 1960: 26, color repro., as by Lucas van Leyden.

1961

Judson, J. Richard. "Review of Hendrick Terbrugghen by Benedict Nicolson." In The The Art Bulletin 43 (1961): 347.

1962

Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 74, color repro., as by Lucas van Leyden.

1963

Friedländer, Max J. Lucas van Leyden. Berlin, 1963: 62-63.

1963

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 306, repro., as by van Leyden.

1965

Reznicek-Buriks, E. I. Review of Lucas van Leyden by Max J. Friedländer. In Oud Holland 80 (1965): 244-245.

1965

Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 78, as by van Leyden.

1966

Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:106-107, color repro., as by Lucas van Leyden.

1966

Held, Julius S. Review of Lucas van Leyden by Max J. Friedländer. In Art Bulletin 48 (1966): 447.

1968

Cuttler, Charles D. Northern Painting, from Pucelle to Bruegel: Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Centuries. New York, 1968: 443.

1968

Gandolfo, Giampaolo et al. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World. New York, 1968: 130, color repro.

1968

National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 68, repro., as by van Leyden.

1974

Silver, Lawrence A. "The Ill-Matched Pair by Quinten Massys." Studies in the History of Art 6 (1974): 114, repro. 122.

1975

European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 202, repro., as by van Leyden

1977

Eisler, Colin. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian. Oxford, 1977: 85-86, fig. 84.

1977

Pope-Hennessy, John. "Completing the Account." Review of Colin Eisler, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, London 1977. Times Literary Supplement no. 3,927 (17 June 1977).

1978

Filedt Kok, Jan Piet. "Underdrawing and Other Technical Aspects in the Paintings of Lucas van Leyden." Nederlands kunsthistorisch jaarboek 29 (1978): 128-132, figs. 135, 136, 137.

1978

Vos, Rik. Lucas van Leyden. Bentveld and Maarssen, 1978: 106, repro. 107.

1979

Rosenbaum, Allen. Old Master Paintings from the Collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza. Exh. cat. International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1979: 114.

1980

Gibson, Walter S. Review of Lucas van Leyden studies in the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 29 (1978). In Simiolus 11 (1980): 108.

1984

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. Washington, 1984: 168, no. 187, color repro.

1985

European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 235, repro.

1986

Hand, John Oliver and Martha Wolff. Early Netherlandish Painting. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1986: 142-144, repro. 141.

1992

Smith, Elise Lawton. The Paintings of Lucas van Leyden, A New Appraisal, with Catalogue Raisonné. Columbia University, New York, 1992: 175-176, repro. 250.

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