Lot 2085 D α

In 17th century Dutch genre paintings, the game of tric-trac is usually depicted as an immoral game, played in taverns and brothels. Here it is the playful pastime of three little cupids, shown squatting around the game board upon a cloud bank. They are surrounded by an owl and a few fluttering bats - showing that it is a nocturnal amusement. Obviously completely absorbed in their game, they have forgotten the time, for one can already see the rays of the morning sun. These cupids playing tric-trac are among a number of secular depictions by Januarius Zick showing the little god of love Cupid or groups of amoretti, which had a profound influence on French art, especially the works of François Boucher (see Josef Straßer: Januarius Zick 1730-1797 Gemälde - Graphik - Fresken, Weissenhorn 1994, p. 469).