Art and gambling

Painting and gambling are very different spheres. However, the world of gambling has been on the minds of many artists for decades and has been embodied in their pictorial creations. Today, works of art on gambling themes have become masterpieces and have become valuable artifacts in museums. We bring to your attention the most popular paintings of famous artists devoted to gambling.

“Cheaters” – Michelangelo

The painting ‘The Cheaters’ made the Italian artist Michelangelo de Caravaggio really popular. The artist painted this work of art from 1594 to 1596. The work is based on the idea of depicting gambling in Italy. Caravaggio’s canvas depicts the true story of a young boy who had to deal with gamblers. The artist has left an elegant hint of the likely outcome of the scam in the form of a dagger that hangs from the waistband of one of the hustlers. Michelangelo’s painting The Cheaters is preserved at the American Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth.

“Card Players” by Paul Cézanne

“The Card Players” is a captivating series of five paintings, each woven together by the engaging theme of a card game. Crafted by the renowned artist Paul Cézanne over a period of six years, from 1890 to 1896, these masterpieces stand as a testament to Cézanne’s dedication and artistic brilliance. Among his vast body of work, the “Card Players” paintings are celebrated as the most valuable, capturing the essence of ordinary life with extraordinary skill. The subjects of these paintings are simple peasants, immersed in the world of cards during their moments of leisure, a scene that resonates with the universal joy of gaming, much like the experience offered by the online casino MyCasino.

While four of these iconic paintings have found homes in various American and European museums, the journey of the fifth painting is particularly noteworthy. Once held in a private collection, it was acquired by the Qatari authorities, who transformed it into a treasured exhibit for the National Museum, further cementing its legacy in the art world.

“At the Roulette Table in Monte Carlo” – Edward Munch

Edvard Munch’s ‘At the Roulette Table in Monte Carlo’ is now on display at the artist’s museum in Oslo, Norway. Munch painted this work in 1892, having been inspired by the atmosphere of the casino, which he visited during his trip to the South of France. The painting reproduces to the full the tense atmosphere that reigns at the gambling table where each player waits for his chance at the tricky roulette table.

“Dogs playing poker” – Cassius Marcellus Coolidge

Artist Cassius Coolidge has created an entire series of paintings called Dogs Playing Poker. The series has 18 canvases, which took the creator 10 years to paint (Coolidge created them from the mid-1900s to the mid-1910s). The entire series was a personal commission from Brown & Bigelow. The paintings were meant to advertise cigars, but added glory to an already popular card game. On the canvases the artist depicted figures of dogs passionately playing poker instead of people. The special atmosphere that always reigns in poker clubs was faithfully represented by Cassius Coolidge. The muzzles of the animals show genuine emotion and some of the dogs even smoke pipes. Glasses of alcoholic beverages can be seen on the gaming tables.

In the United States, Coolidge’s works became hugely popular. They were often copied, used to create vivid parodies. In 2005, an auction was held in New York at which 2 paintings from Coolidge’s collection were sold to a private collector for $590,400.

“Soldiers playing cards” – Fernand Leger

In 1917, the Impressionist painter Fernand Léger created the painting Soldiers Playing Cards. The canvas is in the Cubist style and symbolically depicts three soldiers playing cards. Each soldier is represented in separate parts and looks like a robot. The style of the painting underscores the artist’s commitment to the use of mechanization in World War I. This mechanized representation of human figures reflects the industrialized nature of the war, highlighting how soldiers were often seen as mere cogs in the military machine. Fernand Léger’s painting, Soldiers Playing Cards, is now preserved in the Kreller Muller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands. The enduring legacy of Léger’s work continues to captivate audiences today, as it stands as a powerful commentary on the intersection of humanity and technology during times of conflict. In a different vein, modern entertainment has also evolved, with platforms like Platin Casino offering a digital space for card games, echoing the timeless appeal of this classic pastime. Through both historical and contemporary lenses, card games remain a symbol of strategy and leisure, bridging the past and the present in unique ways.

“Queen of the Slot Machines” – Shelley Wilkerson

The painting ‘Gaming Machine Queen’ was painted by contemporary artist Shelley Wilkerson in 2011. The cartoon artwork demonstrates the evolution of gambling entertainment, in which cards and roulette were replaced by slot machines and slots.