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The Card Game

A work made of graphite and fabricated black chalk, with stumping, erasing, and scraping, with touches of brush and black ink, on cream wove paper, edge mounted on ivory wove card.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of graphite and fabricated black chalk, with stumping, erasing, and scraping, with touches of brush and black ink, on cream wove paper, edge mounted on ivory wove card.

Date:

1899

Artist:

Adolph Menzel
German, 1815–1905

About this artwork

Menzel often chose to depict complex social situations, no doubt to test his powers of observation. From the absolute concentration on the gamblers’ faces to the grimace of the screaming child, he captured a wide range of emotions. His attention to the setting is equally exacting, as evidenced by the meticulous still life on the far table. The artist’s technique here is as sophisticated as his sense of observation. To create an illusion of smoke, for instance, he applied chalk and then scraped areas away. Menzel was known for always having one of his sketchbooks on hand. Reportedly, in order to carry them more easily, he had special, large pockets added to his coats.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel

Title

The Card Game

Place

Germany (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.

Made 1899

Medium

Graphite and fabricated black chalk, with stumping, erasing, and scraping, with touches of brush and black ink, on cream wove paper, edge mounted on ivory wove card

Inscriptions

Inscribed recto, upper right, in graphite: "A. Menzel 99."

Dimensions

Primary support: 19.8 × 26.7 cm (7 13/16 × 10 9/16 in.); Secondary support: 26.1 × 33.5 cm (10 5/16 × 13 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

Reference Number

2013.980

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/186311/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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