Card-Players by Candlelight

The painting shows a relaxed nocturnal scene. A man and a woman are sitting at a table, playing cards by candlelight. Expectantly, the cavalier with sword and spurs holds out a hearts card to the slightly flustered woman. A man in the background, holding a violin, points to the woman’s card, while looking at the man opposite. A cello in the foreground balances the composition.
The anecdotal picture offers a wealth of interpretation. Popular and entertaining as playing cards and music may have been in all levels of society, the Calvinists disapproved of both, as representing dissolute idleness. Also, the hearts card may imply something more; in combination with the wine-jug held by the maidservant with a candle in the doorway behind, it suggests the sensual, erotic element in the scene.

Habersatter Thomas: Gerrit (Gerard) Dou, Card-Players by Candlelight, in: Ducke Astrid, Habersatter Thomas (Hrsg./Edi.): von | from 0 auf | to 100. Residenzgalerie Salzburg 1923-2023. Salzburg 2023, S./p. 132-133