Artwork
Card-playing Soldiers
Card-playing Soldiers is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Gerard ter Borch. It dates from 1645 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a portrait genre work, the painting captures soldiers engaged in leisure, focusing on the specific activity of gambling rather than a formal military action.
Gerard ter Borch's Card-playing Soldiers depicts a genre scene centered on a card game involving men. The composition includes a drum, situating the figures within a military context. As a portrait genre work, the painting captures soldiers engaged in leisure, focusing on the specific activity of gambling rather than a formal military action.
The depiction of the drum alongside the card game suggests the dual nature of military life, balancing duty with recreation.
The work is classified as a portrait, indicating a focus on the individuals and their immediate interaction rather than a broad historical narrative. The subject matter highlights the social dynamics of soldiers during their downtime, using the card game as the primary vehicle for the scene's narrative.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1645, Card-playing Soldiers is an oil painting on an unspecified support by Gerard ter Borch. The work is classified as a portrait genre piece that depicts a group of men engaged in a card game, with a drum included among the represented objects. As a painting housed in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, the artwork utilizes oil paint as its primary material to render these figures and props.
The available records confirm the medium and subject matter but do not provide specific details regarding the artist's handling, the current condition of the surface, or distinct stylistic qualities beyond its classification as a portrait.
History & Provenance
Card-playing Soldiers is an oil portrait painted by Gerard ter Borch in 1645. It entered the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains on display.
The work was created as part of the artist’s investigation of card-playing scenes, reflecting the social customs of the Dutch Golden Age.
The painting’s provenance is documented through its long-standing presence in the Berlin museum’s holdings, with no recorded private sales or transfers.
Card-playing Soldiers is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The work, an oil painting on canvas created in 1645, depicts a scene involving a card game and a drum. While the painting is part of the museum's permanent holdings, the provided records do not list a specific inventory number or detail any past exhibition history for this particular piece.
Overview
Card-playing Soldiers is a 1645 oil painting by Gerard ter Borch, a Dutch Golden Age artist known for genre scenes. It is held in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
Legacy
Ter Borch's focus on intimate domestic scenes and nuanced characterization influenced other Dutch Golden Age painters, including Johannes Vermeer.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Gerard ter Borch (Dutch:; December 1617 – 8 December 1681), also known as Gerard Terburg (Dutch: ), was a Dutch Golden Age painter mainly of genre subjects.
