Artwork
The Card Game (Der kleine l'Hombre Tisch)
The Card Game (Der kleine l'Hombre Tisch) is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki. It dates from 1758 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1758, *The Card Game (Der kleine l'Hombre Tisch)* is an etching combined with a brown sulfur tint and engraved details, executed on laid paper. The German artist Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, known for his narrative prints, presents a quiet interior scene that captures a moment of leisure among three women engaged in a card game.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a modest table where two women play cards while a third figure, illuminated by a candle, watches. Their attire—lace collars, ruffles, and a fan—suggests a genteel domestic setting, emphasizing the private, contemplative atmosphere of everyday recreation in the mid‑eighteenth century.
Technique & Style
Chodowiecki employed traditional etching, using acid to incise lines on a copper plate, then added a brown sulfur tint to enrich tonal depth. Fine engraving strokes highlight the candlelight’s glow on faces and fabrics, while the overall line work remains loose yet controlled, reflecting the period’s preference for expressive yet detailed printmaking.
History & Provenance
Born of Huguenot and Polish heritage, Chodowiecki spent his professional life in Berlin, eventually directing the Berlin Academy of Art. This print, produced during his mature period, exemplifies his prolific output of genre scenes that were widely circulated among the city’s educated public.
Context
In the 1750s, domestic genre prints were popular in German-speaking regions, serving both decorative and didactic purposes. Chodowiecki’s work aligns with this trend, offering a visual narrative that conveys social customs, gender roles, and the modest pleasures of middle‑class life.
Artist & collection
Artist
Daniel Niklaus Chodowiecki (16 October 1726 – 7 February 1801) was a German painter and printmaker of Huguenot and Polish ancestry, who is most famous as an etcher.
