Card games have long fascinated artists and become a subject of their artworks. Some artists became famous because of paintings they created that reproduced scenes of card play. Gambling has been around since Biblical times and continues to form an integral part of many cultures worldwide. Card games first appeared in Europe in the 1370s, widely believed to have come from Islamic traders based in Egypt. Having been part of Western society for over 600 years, it is little wonder that cards feature as prominently as they do in artworks.

Here are some famous examples of card games in renowned artworks:

Caravaggio’s The Cardsharps



While this 1594 artwork differs vastly from any card games people today play in state-of-the-art online casinos, this painting continues to fascinate art lovers. It portrays the naivete of novice gamblers with a young man being swindled by two experienced players. One is leaning over to view the young man’s hand, signaling their value to his opponent, who is hiding his cards behind his back.

Although this masterpiece remains unrivaled, Caravaggio’s work inspired many of his contemporaries to paint pictures of card games. The relationship and interaction between players are brought to life in his work.

Cassius Coolidge’s Dogs Playing Poker

You cannot discuss card games and art subjects without this painting coming to mind. While this series of 18 pictures has been parodied and criticized by many in arts news publications, it remains iconic, with thousands of prints sold annually. Coolidge produced the first in 1894, another 16 in 1903, and the last in 1910.

Poker remains one of the best card games and a firm favorite among gamblers. Dogs are given human characteristics in these artworks, holding their cards, drinking alcoholic beverages, and smoking cigars and pipes. Despite denigration from art critics, Dogs Playing Poker remains one the most famous card game artworks of all time.

Cezanne’s The Card Players



Cezanne achieved notoriety and fame as an impressionist, creating five known variations of this painting. This French artist would use Provence’s peasants as his subjects, observing them playing cards in local cafes. Cezanne favored taking scenes from everyday life and reproducing them into art masterpieces.

He would emphasize the players’ stillness as they pondered their hands, each deciding their next move. This symbolized the intensity of their passion for the game and determination to win. Among many aspects of card games that Cezanne captured in his artworks was a need to betray no emotion when playing cards as an opponent will take advantage of any tells they can read.

Jan Steen’s Argument Over a Card Game



This masterpiece by Dutch artist Jan Steen is known by several names, although Argument Over a Card Game best summarizes its contents. It drew a sharp distinction between classes in Dutch society, with a peasant playing against a nobleman. While a backgammon board is in the picture’s foreground, having been cast to the floor, cards are evident on the table.

A peasant has accused his noble opponent of cheating, to which the aristocrat responds with great fury. Shakespeare’s words, “Methinks he dost protest too much”, come to mind. His wife and daughter beseech the nobleman not to get into a fight with a peasant. While the poorer man is surrounded by some counterparts, they show no signs of intending to support him, appearing to be intoxicated.

Georges de la Tour’s The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs
This artwork is one of few depicting women playing card games. Two young women are playing against a man who hides the ace of clubs behind his back, symbolizing cheating. De la Tour catches his subject in the act of removing an ace of clubs from his belt and replacing it with a less favorable card.

One woman looks at him skeptically, and it might be argued that she is onto his cheating. The other plays on, oblivious to what is happening before her very eyes. All are dressed in the finery of French nobility except for a servant who is serving an alcoholic beverage. The young man looks away from the alcohol, seeming to eschew it in favor of remaining focused on the game and winning by cheating.