Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009803Game of Backgammon
About the Artwork
The game of backgammon has a long and popular history which can be traced back many centuries. The version of the game as it is played in modern times first appeared in the 1400s under various names. Its current appellation was coined around the same time as the date of this painting. Backgammon was exceptionally popular in the 1600s, and was often played for money or other wagers. The two men on the left side of this painting are clearly involved in a high stakes game of backgammon. A three-man cluster has gathered to watch them lay their bets, while another tallies their points on a scoreboard. The young lady in the right corner of the room otherwise surrounded by men and the older women who looks down on the game of backgammon from a window, both indicate that the interior presented in this painting is probably the gaming room of a brothel. Courtesans often worked out of such game rooms, providing further entertainment for men. Depictions of games, like procurement scenes, often symbolized moralizing virtues. Games were considered at best folly and at worst immoral. Backgammon was often used to represent the foolishness or wickedness of betting and wasting one's time.
Inscriptions
Signed lower left: "D. TENIERS"
Provenance
1674-1723: Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1674–1723), Regent of France 1723-1752: Louis I Duke of Orléans (1703–1752) 1752-1785: Louis Philippe I (1725–1785), Duke of Orléans 1785-1792: Louis-Philippe II (1747–1793), Duke of Orléans / Philippe Égalité 1792-1793: Brought to London by Thomas Moore Slade, (exhibited for sale in the Royal Academy, London, April 1793) George Hibbert (1757–1837), London, England -1816: Thomas Penrice (d. 1816), Great Yarmouth, England, by inheritance to John Penrice 1816-1844: John Penrice Sr. (1787-1844), sold, Christie's July 6, 1844: (Sale: Christie's, London, England, 07/06/1844, to Farrer) 1844-: Farrer -1925: Private collection, sold, Christie's, London July 17, 1925: (Sale: Christie's, London, England, 07/17/1925, no. 119 through S. A. Hecht, London, England to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wise) 1925-1943: Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Wise (Cleveland, Ohio), by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1943 1943-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956). Images of History. Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO (organizer) (March 14-May 21, 1961). Re-presenting the Baroque. Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art (organizer) (October 1, 1997-April 1, 1998).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- David Teniers (Flemish, 1610–1690)
- Date
- 1640s
- Medium
- oil on wood, transferred to canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 82 x 102 x 9 cm (32 5/16 x 40 3/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 59 x 80.6 cm (23 1/4 x 31 3/4 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel D. Wise
- Accession no.
- 1943.377
More by David Teniers in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009803
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