The Card Players
by CÉZANNE, Paul, Oil on canvas, 48 x 57 cm
The composition used in the version of The Card Players with two players is very different from the other versions. Here the background is mainly dark, and only a few light-coloured strips give an idea of space, perhaps the roofed terrace of a caf�. The scene is lit by artificial light, which is reflected on the table-cloth, bottle and pipe. The purpose of the painting is not to re-create some everyday scene from small-town provincial life, but to solve the compositional problem of depicting people in space.