The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Game of Backgammon

Game of Backgammon

1640s
(Flemish, 1610–1690)
Flanders
oil on wood, transferred to canvas
Framed: 82 x 102 x 9 cm (32 5/16 x 40 3/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 59 x 80.6 cm (23 1/4 x 31 3/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Wise 1943.377
Location: not on view

Description

The game of backgammon has a long and popular history which can be traced back many centuries. The version of the game as it is played in modern times first appeared in the 1400s under various names. Its current appellation was coined around the same time as the date of this painting. Backgammon was exceptionally popular in the 1600s, and was often played for money or other wagers. The two men on the left side of this painting are clearly involved in a high stakes game of backgammon. A three-man cluster has gathered to watch them lay their bets, while another tallies their points on a scoreboard. The young lady in the right corner of the room otherwise surrounded by men and the older women who looks down on the game of backgammon from a window, both indicate that the interior presented in this painting is probably the gaming room of a brothel. Courtesans often worked out of such game rooms, providing further entertainment for men. Depictions of games, like procurement scenes, often symbolized moralizing virtues. Games were considered at best folly and at worst immoral. Backgammon was often used to represent the foolishness or wickedness of betting and wasting one's time.
  • 1674-1723
    Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1674–1723), Regent of France
    1723-1752
    Louis I Duke of Orléans (1703–1752)
    1752-1785
    Louis Philippe I (1725–1785), Duke of Orléans
    1785-1792
    Louis-Philippe II (1747–1793), Duke of Orléans / Philippe Égalité
    1792-1793
    Brought to London by Thomas Moore Slade, (exhibited for sale in the Royal Academy, London, April 1793)
    George Hibbert (1757–1837), London, England
    -1816
    Thomas Penrice (d. 1816), Great Yarmouth, England, by inheritance to John Penrice
    1816-1844
    John Penrice Sr. (1787-1844), sold, Christie's
    July 6, 1844
    (Sale: Christie's, London, England, 07/06/1844, to Farrer)
    1844-
    Farrer
    -1925
    Private collection, sold, Christie's, London
    July 17, 1925
    (Sale: Christie's, London, England, 07/17/1925, no. 119 through S. A. Hecht, London, England to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wise)
    1925-1943
    Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Wise (Cleveland, Ohio), by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1943
    1943-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
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  • Re-presenting the Baroque. Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art (organizer) (October 1, 1997-April 1, 1998).
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  • {{cite web|title=Game of Backgammon|url=false|author=David Teniers|year=1640s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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