Lot 22: Soldiers seated around a table playing backgammon

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (Amsterdam 1621-1674) Soldiers seated around a table playing backgammon signed and dated 'G. V. Eeckhout. f. / A. 1655.' (lower right) oil on canvas 20¾ x 24½ in. (52.8 x 62.4 cm.)

52.8 x 62.4 cm.

G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, London, 1854, III, p. 35. Catalogue of the Pictures in Petworth House, Sussex, London, 1856, p. 40, no. 366. C. Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibendes und Kritisches Verzeichnis der hervorragendsten Holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, V, Esslingen/Paris, 1912, p. 151. C.H. Collins Baker, Catalogue of the Petworth Collection of pictures in the possession of Lord Leconfield, London, 1920, pp. 34-5, no. 366. G. Isarlo, ‘Rembrandt et son entourage’, La Renaissance, July-September 1936, p. 34. R. Roy, Studien zu Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, PhD thesis, Vienna, 1972, pp. 51 and 226, no. 107. W. Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandtschüler, Landau-Pfalz, 1983, II, p. 748, no. 511, illustrated. P. van den Brink, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout. Schilder van “Philosoophen en verkeerspeelders”, Cortegaerden en geselschappen”, unpublished Master thesis, University of Groningen, 1987, I, no. A16, p. 84; II, illustrated. B.P.J. Broos, in J. Turner (ed.), The Dictionary of Art, IX, London, 1996, p. 744. To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Gerbrand van den Eeckhout’s work currently in preparation by Prof. Dr Volker Manuth.

(Possibly) Dr. Robert Bragge; his sale, London, 21 March 1751, lot 16, 'Officers at cards', [or] 8 May 1751, 'Officers smoking' (4 gns.). (Possibly) acquired by Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont (1710-1763), recorded at Egremont House, London, in late 18th century, and by descent to his son, George, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751-1837), recorded at Petworth in 1837 (Inventory of Paintings, Sculpture and Books at Petworth House, Property of The Late George, 3rd Earl of Egremont, as ‘T[F?] Bol’), and by descent through his son, George Wyndham, 1st Lord Leconfield (1789-1869), at Petworth.

Van den Eeckhout was a pupil of Rembrandt and also, according to Houbraken, a close friend of the great artist. He is probably best known for his biblical and mythological paintings that he painted throughout his career in his master’s style. However, Eeckhout’s range was diverse and he was a much more imaginative and versatile artist than many of the other painters who emanated from Rembrandt’s workshop in the 1630s. His most innovative contribution was as a painter of genre subjects, a theme he developed in Amsterdam in the 1650s, in the vein of Gerard ter Borch and Pieter de Hooch, investing his pictures with a sense of elegance and refinement quite distinct from the raucous scenes of the earlier generation of genre painters. Eeckhout made a particular specialty of guardroom scenes, in which his protagonists are invariably involved in games of cards or ‘trik-trak’ - the theme of playing games of chance being inextricably linked with soldiers. Sumowski records around ten extant pictures on this subject from the mid-1650s, each displaying a highly individual sense of composition and attention to detail. This is one of the finest examples, in which two fashionably-dressed officers are playing ‘trik-trak’, while a third spectates, smoking a pipe. Light, entering the scene from the left, dramatically illuminates the face and gestures of one of the players, highlighting his disagreement over his opponent’s final move. The setting of this animated gathering appears to be an inn, rather than a guard room, and an elderly innkeeper stands by, curiously observing the discussion between the quarrelling soldiers. While Eeckhout’s composition is highly individual, the palette of warm hues, the sensitive chiaroscuro and the soft brushwork are all strongly reminiscent of his teacher, Rembrandt.