The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds

C. 1638 painting by Georges de La Tour

The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds

Artist	Georges de La Tour
Year	ca. 1636–1638
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	106 cm × 146 cm (42 in × 57 in)
Location	Louvre, Paris

The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds is an oil-on-canvas painting produced c. 1636–1638 by the French artist Georges de La Tour. It is now in the Louvre, which bought it in 1972.^[1] Though its commissioner is unknown, it is signed Georgius De La Tour fecit under the card sharp's elbow and in the shadow of the tablecloth.

The work depicts a card game in which the well-to-do young man on the right is being fleeced of his money by the other players, who both appear to be complicit in the scheme. The card sharp on the left is actually in the process of retrieving the ace of diamonds from behind his back.

The painting is one of two versions of the composition by de la Tour. The other version, known as The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs, with "abundant variations in details of color, clothing, and accessories" was purchased in 1981 by the Kimbell Art Foundation and is in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.^[2]

References

^ "The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds". Louvre. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
^ "The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs | Kimbell Art Museum". www.kimbellart.org. Retrieved 2019-08-06.

Bibliography (in French)

Hermann Voss, « Tableaux à éclairage diurne de G. de La Tour », Formes, Paris, Éditions des Quatre Chemins, no XVI, juin 1931, p. 98-99 (lire en ligne [archive])
Pierre Rosenberg et François Macé de l'Épinay, Georges de La Tour : Vie et œuvre, Fribourg, Office du livre, 1973, p. 126-127 (« Catalogue raisonné, no 29 »)
Jacques Thuillier, Tout l'œuvre peint de Georges de La Tour, Paris, Flammarion, coll. « Les Classiques de l'Art », 1973 (réimpr. 1985), 104 p. (ISBN 2-08-010258-3), p. 91 (« Catalogue des œuvres, no 30 »)
Pierre Rosenberg et Marina Mojana, Georges de La Tour : catalogue complet des peintures, Paris, Bordas, coll. « Fleurons de l'Art », 1992 (ISBN 978-2040195984)
Jean-Pierre Cuzin et Pierre Rosenberg (préf. Jacques Thuillier), Georges de La Tour : Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, 3 octobre 1997-26 janvier 1998, Paris, Réunion des Musées nationaux, 1997, 320 p. (ISBN 2-7118-3592-8)
Jean-Pierre Cuzin et Dimitri Salmon, Georges de La Tour : Histoire d'une redécouverte, Paris, Gallimard, Réunion des musées nationaux, coll. « Découvertes Gallimard / Arts » (no 329), 1997, 176 p. (ISBN 2-07-030053-6)
Jacques Thuillier, Georges de La Tour, Paris, Flammarion, coll. « Les Grandes monographies », 1992 (réimpr. 2012), 318 p. (ISBN 978-2-0812-86085)
Emanuele Castellani, Antonio Fazzini, Chiara Lachi et Daniela Parenti, Georges de La Tour : Le Tricheur à l'as de carreau, t. 16, Paris, Le Monde, coll. « Le Musée du Monde », 2014 (ISBN 978-2-36156-146-8)

Georges de La Tour

Paintings

Albi Apostles (c. 1620 series)
The Hurdy-Gurdy Player (c. 1620–1625)
The Hurdy-Gurdy Player with a Dog (c. early 1620s)
The Musicians' Brawl (1620s)
The Dream of Saint Joseph (c. 1628–1645)
The Fortune Teller (1630)
Saint Jerome at Prayer (c. 1630–1635)
The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds (c. 1638)
Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene (c. 1634–1643, Gemäldegalerie)
Magdalene at a Mirror (c. 1635–1640)
Magdalene with the Smoking Flame (c. 1640)
Magdalene with Two Flames (c. 1640)
Adoration of the Shepherds (1644)
The Newborn Child (c. 1645–1648)
Joseph the Carpenter (1640s)
Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene (1649, Louvre)
The Denial of Saint Peter (1650)
Job Taunted by his Wife (unknown)

Louvre Museum

Building
Louvre Colonnade Lescot Wing Pavillon de Flore Pavillon de l'Horloge Louvre Pyramid Pyramide inversée Cour Carrée Medieval Louvre

Antiquities

Near East and Middle East	ʿAin Ghazal statue Amarna letter EA 362 Amarna letter EA 364 Amarna letter EA 365 Amarna letter EA 367 Assyrian lion weights Baal with Thunderbolt Bushel with ibex motifs Cippi of Melqart Code of Hammurabi Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II Gudea cylinders Hurrian foundation pegs Investiture of Zimri-Lim Lament for Ur Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina I by Meli-Shipak II Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru Lion of Mari Manishtushu Obelisk Masub inscription Mesha Stele Namara inscription Narundi Nazareth Inscription Nazimaruttaš kudurru stone Neirab steles Osorkon Bust Phoenician metal bowls Quintus Marcius trilingual inscription Sidon Mithraeum Statue of Iddi-Ilum Statue of Ebih-Il Stele of the Vultures Stele of Zakkur Tayma stones Tiara of Saitaferne Vase of Entemena Victory Stele of Naram-Sin Worshipper of Larsa Yehawmilk Stele Ziwiye hoard
Ancient Egypt	Gebel el-Arak Knife The Seated Scribe Banishment Stela Bentresh stela Bronze Sphinx of Thutmose III Cosmetic Spoon: Young Girl Swimming Dendera zodiac Great Sphinx of Tanis Khonsuemheb and the Ghost Raherka and Meresankh Stela of Pasenhor Tomb of Akhethetep Bull Palette Hunters Palette Statue of Karomama
Greece and Rome, Etruscan	Albani lion Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus Antinous Mondragone Antioch mosaics Apollo Belvedere Apollo of Mantua Apollo of Piombino Apollo Sauroctonos Ares Borghese Athena of Velletri Barberini ivory Borghese Collection Borghese Gladiator Borghese Vase Borghese Venus Boscoreale Treasure Cupid and Psyche Diana of Gabii Diana of Versailles Dinos of the Gorgon Painter Dying Gaul Eurytios Krater Furietti Centaurs Gladiator Mosaic Hera Borghese Hercules and the lion of Nemea Judgement of Paris (mosaic) Lady of Auxerre Las Incantadas Marcellus as Hermes Logios Nazareth Inscription Rampin Rider Sarcophagus of the Spouses Sleeping Ariadne Sleeping Hermaphroditus Statue of the Tiber river with Romulus and Remus The Exaltation of the Flower Venus and Mars Venus de Milo Venus Genetrix Venus of Arles Winged Lion of Vulci Winged Victory of Samothrace
Byzantine	Harbaville Triptych Lampsacus Treasure

Paintings

French	Anonymous: Diana the Huntress; Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses sœurs Boilly: Artists in Isabey's Studio Boucher: The Brunette Odalisque; Diana Bathing; Vulcan Presenting Venus with Arms for Aeneas Chardin: The Attributes of Civilian and Military Music; The Attributes of Music, the Arts and the Sciences; Boy with a Spinning-Top; The Buffet; The Ray; Saying Grace Chassériau: Aline Chassériau; Self-Portrait; The Toilette of Esther; The Two Sisters Claude: Village Fête Corot: The Bridge at Narni David: Andromache Mourning Hector; The Coronation of Napoleon; The Intervention of the Sabine Women; Leonidas at Thermopylae; The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons; The Loves of Paris and Helen; Minerva Fighting Mars; Oath of the Horatii; Portrait of Madame Marie-Louise Trudaine; Portrait of Madame Récamier; Portrait of Pope Pius VII; Self-Portrait Delacroix: The Barque of Dante; The Bride of Abydos; The Death of Sardanapalus; Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople; Liberty Leading the People; Lion Devouring a Rabbit; Mademoiselle Rose; The Massacre at Chios; The Murder of the Bishop of Liège; Orphan Girl at the Cemetery; Portrait of Frédéric Chopin; The Picador; Women of Algiers; A Young Tiger Playing with Its Mother Delaroche: Bonaparte Crossing the Alps; The Young Martyr Flandrin: Study (Young Male Nude Seated Beside the Sea) Fragonard: Coresus Sacrificing Himself to Save Callirhoe; The Bolt Géricault: The 1821 Derby at Epsom; The Charging Chasseur; The Raft of the Medusa; The Woman with a Gambling Mania; The Wounded Cuirassier Greuze: The Village Bride Gros: Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole; Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa; Napoléon on the Battlefield of Eylau Guérin: Jeune fille en buste Huet: The Flood of Saint-Cloud; Normandy Thatched Cottage, Old Trouville Ingres: The Apotheosis of Homer; Don Pedro of Toledo Kissing Henry IV's Sword; Grande Odalisque; Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII; Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière; Oedipus and the Sphinx; Portrait of Madame Marcotte de Sainte-Marie; Portrait of Monsieur Bertin; Roger Freeing Angelica; The Turkish Bath; The Valpinçon Bather La Tour: The Adoration of the Shepherds; The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds; Joseph the Carpenter; Magdalene with the Smoking Flame; Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene Philippe de Champaigne: Ex-Voto de 1662 Poussin: Et in Arcadia ego; The Four Seasons; The Funeral of Phocion; The Inspiration of the Poet; Landscape with Orpheus and Eurydice Quarton: Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon Robert: Principal Monuments of France; Project for the Transformation of the Grande Galerie du Louvre Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil Vernet: A Mediterranean Port Vouet: Allegory of Wealth; Hesselin Madonna Watteau: The Embarkation for Cythera; The Faux Pas; L'Indifférent; Jupiter and Antiope; Pierrot; The Two Cousins
Italian	Fra Angelico: Coronation of the Virgin Antonello da Messina: Christ at the Column Arcimboldo: The Four Seasons Bellini: Christ Blessing; Madonna and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Sebastian; Portrait of a Young Man Botticelli: Three Scenes from the Life of Esther; Venus and the Three Graces Presenting Gifts to a Young Woman; A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts Caravaggio: Death of the Virgin; The Fortune Teller; Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page Carpaccio: The Sermon of St. Stephen Carracci: Fishing; Hunting Cimabue: Maestà Correggio: Allegory of Vice; Allegory of Virtue; Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine; Venus and Cupid with a Satyr Costa: Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation; Reign of Comus Ghirlandaio: An Old Man and his Grandson; Visitation Giordano: Adoration of the Shepherds; Marriage of the Virgin Giotto: Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata Guardi: The Doge on the Bucintoro near the Riva di Sant'Elena Leonardo: Bacchus; La belle ferronnière; Mona Lisa; Saint John the Baptist; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne; Virgin of the Rocks Lippi: Barbadori Altarpiece; The Healing of Justinian the Canon; Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata Lotto: Christ Carrying the Cross; Holy Family with the Family of St John the Baptist; Saint Jerome in Penitence Mantegna: Crucifixion; Judgement of Solomon; Madonna della Vittoria; Parnassus; Saint Sebastian; Triumph of the Virtues Martini: The Carrying of the Cross Moretto: Saints Bonaventure and Anthony of Padua; Saints Bernardino of Siena and Louis of Toulouse Palmezzano: Dead Christ Panini: Ancient Rome Parmigianino: Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Perugino: Apollo and Daphnis; The Battle Between Love and Chastity; Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist and St Catherine of Alexandria; Madonna and Child with St Rose and St Catherine (with Ingegno); St Sebastian; Young Saint with a Sword Piero della Francesca: Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Pisanello: Portrait of a Princess Raphael: Angel Holding a Phylactery; La belle jardinière; The Holy Family of Francis I; Madonna with the Blue Diadem (with Penni); Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione; St. George; St. Michael; St. Michael Vanquishing Satan; Self-Portrait with a Friend; Small Holy Family Romano: Portrait of Doña Isabel de Requesens y Enríquez de Cardona-Anglesola (with Raphael) Salviati: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas Savoldo: Portrait of a Clad Warrior Signorelli: Adoration of the Magi; Birth of John the Baptist Tintoretto: Self Portrait Titian: The Crowning with Thorns; The Entombment of Christ; Madonna of the Rabbit; Man with a Glove; Pardo Venus; Pastoral Concert (also attributed to Giorgione); Saint Jerome in Penitence; Woman with a Mirror Tura: Pietà with Saints Uccello: The Battle of San Romano Veronese: The Wedding at Cana
Northern	Bosch: Ship of Fools Bruegel: The Beggars Christus: Lamentation (Pietà) David: Cervara Altarpiece; Triptych of the Sedano family Dürer: Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle van Dyck: Charles I at the Hunt; Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, St John and St Mary Magdalene; Madonna and Child with Two Donors van Eyck: Madonna of Chancellor Rolin Friedrich: The Tree of Crows Hals: Catharina Both-van der Eem; The Gypsy Girl; The Lute Player Holbein: Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam; Portrait of Nicolaus Kratzer de Hooch: Card Players in a Rich Interior Jordaens: The Four Evangelists Matsys: The Money Changer and His Wife Memling: Diptych of an elderly couple Metsu: The Vegetable Market in Amsterdam Rembrandt: The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family; Bathsheba at Her Bath; Landscape with a Castle; Pendant portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit; Philosopher in Meditation; St. Matthew and the Angel; Self-Portrait; Slaughtered Ox Rubens: Helena Fourment with a Carriage; Helena Fourment with Children; Hercules and Omphale; Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce; Marie de' Medici cycle; The Village Fête; The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents Ruisdael: Dune Landscape near Haarlem; The Ray of Light; Storm Off a Sea Coast Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil Vermeer: The Astronomer; The Lacemaker van der Weyden: Annunciation Triptych; Braque Triptych Wtewael: Perseus Freeing Andromeda
Spanish	El Greco: Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors; Portrait of Antonio de Covarrubias; Saint Louis Goya: Portrait of Ferdinand Guillemardet; Portrait of the Marquise de la Solana; Still Life of a Lamb's Head and Flanks Murillo: The Birth of the Virgin; The Young Beggar Ribera: The Clubfoot Zurbarán: Displaying the Body of Saint Bonaventure; Saint Apollonia
English	Bonington: Francis I, Charles V and the Duchess of Étampes Lewis: Street Scene near the El Ghouri Mosque in Cairo
American	Leutze: Christopher Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca