Artwork
Game of Cards
Game of Cards is an oil painting by Henri de Braekeleer. It is held in the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
About this work
Overview
Henri de Braekeleer’s 1894 oil painting *Game of Cards* portrays a domestic interior where a boy and a girl are absorbed in a card game. The scene is set at a wooden table strewn with a white cloth, vases, a glass and a small dog, all surrounded by richly detailed furniture and patterned wallpaper. Light entering from a left‑hand window creates soft shadows across the room.
Subject & Meaning
The work captures a quiet, everyday moment, emphasizing the concentration of the children as the girl in a red dress leans forward to hold her cards while the boy in a blue shirt watches. The inclusion of household objects and the intimate setting suggest a focus on ordinary family life and the simple pleasures of leisure in a 19th‑century Belgian home.
Technique & Style
De Braekeleer employs a meticulous, realist approach typical of Belgian genre painting, rendering textures—from the polished wood of the table to the fabric of the wallpaper—with precise brushwork. The subdued palette and careful modeling of light convey depth, while the composition balances the figures against the cluttered surroundings, guiding the viewer’s eye toward the central activity.
History & Provenance
Born in Antwerp in 1840, de Braekeleer was trained by his father and uncle, both established genre painters, and later studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. *Game of Cards* entered the collection of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of 19th‑century Belgian art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Henri Jean Augustin de Braekeleer (11 June 1840 – 20 July 1888) was a Belgian painter.
Museum
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
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