Artwork
Playing Card
Playing Card is an ink print by the Renaissance artist German 16th Century. It dates from 1550 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. The work is a fragmentary woodcut print on light‑brown paper, its edges ragged from wear or tearing.
About this work
Overview
The work is a fragmentary woodcut print on light‑brown paper, its edges ragged from wear or tearing. Only a central botanical motif remains fully legible: a plant rendered with elongated leaves and diminutive blossoms. Surrounding the plant are faint, incomplete outlines that suggest the silhouettes of playing cards, some with rounded corners and others with undulating edges.
Subject & Meaning
The surviving imagery juxtaposes a natural element with the suggestion of a card game, perhaps alluding to themes of chance, growth, or the interplay between the organic and the manufactured. The plant’s clear depiction may symbolize vitality or renewal, while the fragmented card shapes could hint at the fleeting nature of leisure or the randomness inherent in games of chance.
Technique & Style
Executed as a woodcut, the image was produced by carving the design into a wooden block, inking the raised surfaces, and pressing the paper onto it. The characteristic bold lines and stark contrast of woodcut are evident in the plant’s outlines, while the faint, eroded card forms reflect the print’s age and the degradation of the paper substrate.
History & Provenance
The piece exists only as a damaged fragment, with no recorded creator, date, or original context. Its condition suggests prolonged handling or exposure, and the lack of accompanying documentation makes its provenance uncertain, limiting scholarly attribution beyond its identification as a woodcut print.
Artist & collection
Artist
A German artist of the late 1500s drew knights clashing in parades and mock battles, filling sheets with detailed ink colored lightly in watercolor: soldiers mid-joust, shields flying, foot soldiers sparring with spears.
![Abraham Entertaining the Angels [verso], by German 16th Century](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/german-16th-century--abraham-entertaining-the-angels-verso--69d1b25f4eba0a53-w320.webp)
