Creative Commons License
The Game of Chess
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In this enchanting painting, two little boys play chess while a third looks on, perhaps waiting to play the winner. The chessboard juts out into our space, inviting us into the game as well. The artist, himself a child prodigy, captured the pure joy of play, reflecting a revolutionary new philosophy about the importance of play in childhood that was developing throughout Europe during the late 18th century. In place of stiff, corseted garments, looser unrestricting clothes, such as the green outfit worn here, allowed children to play freely at last.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, after 1894 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2010 | Checkmate! Medieval People at Play. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 5/1/1946 | Treatment | coated; inpainted; varnish removed or reduced |
| 7/1/1948 | Treatment | coated |
| 10/15/1987 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 11/10/1987 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 3/1/2010 | Treatment | coated; inpainted; mounted; other; surface cleaned |
Geographies
United Kingdom, England (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 27 13/16 x W: 3 5/8 in. (70.7 x 9.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, after 1894
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.215