Cardplayers in a Sunlit Room

Cardplayers in a Sunlit Room (1658) is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch; it is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is now in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.

This painting by Hooch was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1908, who wrote; "254. THE CARD-PLAYERS. Sm. 48. ; de G. 41. In the right-hand corner of a room with a wooden ceiling and a tiled floor a young lady and a gentleman are playing cards at a table, while two other gentlemen look on. The lady, seated on the right, is about to play a card from her hand. On her right stands a cavalier, holding a pipe in his right hand ; he wears a plumed hat and a doublet of light grey with pink ribbons ; a grey cloak hangs upon a peg to the right. To the right of the lady sits another cavalier with cards in his hand, who glances up at the gentleman. A third young man, bareheaded and seen in full light, sits, with his back half-turned to the spectator, at the right-hand front corner of the table, drinking a glass of wine ; he wears a black velvet jacket, yellow stockings, and high-heeled shoes. By the wall to the right is a couch with red velvet cushions. The room is flooded with light from a large window, divided into four compartments, behind the group. To the left an open door looks into a courtyard, through which a servant-girl comes with a jug and some pipes. Behind her is a house with a passage leading into a garden. This is one of the finest of the master's works. " The extraordinary luminous effect which pervades this picture renders it the admiration of every beholder. It is painted with singular mastery of hand, and exhibits throughout a consummate knowledge of the principles of art " (Sm.).

Signed and dated 1658 ; canvas, 30 inches by 25 J inches. Mentioned by Waagen (ii. n). Exhibited in the British Gallery in 1826 and 1827.

Sales:

Now in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, No. 22 in the 1885 catalogue."