CÉZANNE, Paul
(b. 1839, Aix-en-Provence, d. 1906, Aix-en-Provence)

The Card Players

1890-92
Oil on canvas, 48 x 57 cm
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

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 café. 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.