Artwork
Peasants playing cards
Peasants playing cards is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Daniël Boone. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The depiction of a humble figure occupied with card play reflects contemporary interest in ordinary occupations and leisure activities.
The painting shows a peasant man seated with a deck of cards, a modest hat perched on his head, rendered in oil on panel in 1650. It belongs to the genre of genre painting, a category that celebrated scenes of daily life in the Dutch Republic. The depiction of a humble figure occupied with card play reflects contemporary interest in ordinary occupations and leisure activities.
The work is part of the Rijksmuseum collection and was originally owned by Cornelis François Roos before entering the museum. Its iconography centers on the playing cards and the peasant’s attire, simple attributes that identify the sitter as a rural laborer rather than a noble subject.
Technique & Style
Peasants Playing Cards is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, a support typical of small-scale seventeenth-century Dutch cabinet pictures. The work measures 19.5 cm in height by 23 cm in width, a modest format suited to intimate genre scenes of figures absorbed in everyday pastimes such as card play. The composition centers on peasants, including a man wearing a hat, rendered in the genre-painting tradition associated with Daniël Boone's Amsterdam-based practice around 1650. The painting is held in the Rijksmuseum collection, having previously been owned by Cornelis François Roos.
History & Provenance
The painting is dated to 1650 on internal records and in the Rijksmuseum’s holdings, aligning its creation to the mid-seventeenth century.
The work entered the Rijksmuseum’s collection through Cornelis François Roos, who is recorded as its owner at the time of acquisition. Provenance places the painting’s origin in Amsterdam, consistent with Boone’s documented activity in the Dutch Republic.
No evidence supports a commissioning patron or specific original context beyond its genre-scene production and later inclusion in the Rijksmuseum collection.
The painting Peasants playing cards by Daniël Boone is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The work, created in 1650, is cataloged within the museum's holdings as an oil-on-panel genre scene. Its provenance includes former ownership by Cornelis François Roos prior to its acquisition by the institution.
The provided sources do not list specific accession numbers or a detailed record of past exhibitions for this artwork.
Overview
Daniël Boone's Peasants playing cards, an oil painting from around 1650, exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age genre scene. This work captures a common subject for the Flemish artist, who was known for depicting everyday life. It is currently housed in the Rijksmuseum collection, representing a typical example of Boone's oeuvre within the period's artistic trends.
Context
Active during the mid-17th century, Daniël Boone was a Flemish painter who contributed to the genre painting tradition. His portrayals of common folk, often in rustic settings, echo the work of artists such as Adriaen Brouwer. Beyond painting, Boone also operated as an art dealer and traveled between the Dutch Republic and England, indicating a broader engagement with the art world.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Daniël Boone (also Boon or Boontje), signed once as Daniel Adriaensen (1631/32 – 1686), was a Flemish painter known for his genre scenes of boorish types in the style of Adriaen Brouwer and Egbert van Heemskerk.
