Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
5255
label
The Game of Chess
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
5255
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
The Game of Chess
description
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
Henry Walters, Baltimore, after 1894 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1790-1799
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
oil paintings
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
70.7
height
9.2
dimensionsRaw
H: 27 13/16 x W: 3 5/8 in. (70.7 x 9.2 cm)
Source extras
med
oil on canvas
creator_ids
4691
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
2829
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d49a19719a8f0013