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Backgammon Players

A work made of engraving on ivory paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of engraving on ivory paper.

Date:

c. 1630

Artist:

Lucas Emil Vorsterman (Flemish, 1595-1675)
after Adam de Coster (Flemish, c.1586-1643)

About this artwork

Adam de Coster was a prominent painter of illuminated night scenes in Antwerp around 1630, about the same time that Lucas Emil Vorsterman was engraving works after his popular contemporaries in the same city. A student of Peter Paul Rubens, Vorsterman employed a style that was originally similar to that of the Flemish master, until a falling out with Rubens and subsequent trip to England provoked him to create stronger, more stylized, Caravaggesque engravings such as Backgammon Players. Clearly influenced by De Coster’s handling of light, Vorsterman brightened the otherwise dark scene with two candles whose flames illuminate the faces of those seated around the table.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Lucas Emil Vorsterman

Title

Backgammon Players

Place

Flanders (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1625–1635

Medium

Engraving on ivory paper

Dimensions

Image: 25.5 × 34.4 cm (10 1/16 × 13 9/16 in.); Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 27.7 × 35.7 cm (10 15/16 × 14 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Bernard F. Rogers Collection

Reference Number

1935.146

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/21398/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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