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| Title | The Gamblers | |
| Collection | Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth | |
| Artist | Attributed to Rombouts, Theodoor (Flemish painter and printmaker, 1597-1637) | |
| Date Earliest | probably 1616 | |
| Date Latest | probably about 1625 | |
| Description | Theodoor Rombouts was a pupil of Abraham Janssens (1575-1632) at Antwerp, alongside Gerard Seghers (1591-1651). They became the three most important exponents of Flemish Caravaggism. Rombouts travelled to Rome in 1616 where he remained studying the work of Caravaggio until about 1625. The Gamblers in the Russell-Cotes collection, attributed to Rombouts, is a large painting and although it does not show the delicacy of finish seen in his finest works, such as The Toothpuller (Prado, Madrid; inv. no. 1635), the subject and composition are typical of his work. The scene shows five people at a table. At the centre two men in plumed hats, one younger than the other, play cards. On the left an old man wearing glasses looks over the young player's shoulder, while on the far right an old woman is in conversation with a young man who holds a glass full of wine. Certain figures in the Russell-Cotes painting appear to be taken from the same models as those in the Prado's painting of Gamblers (inv. no. 1636). In the Bournemouth picture, the old man with glasses seated to the left, the figure of the card player on the near side of the table and his young opponent opposite are all directly comparable to individuals in the Prado's painting. | |
| Current Accession Number | :BORGM 01886 | |
| Subject | interior; everyday life; figure | |
| Measurements | 28 x 18.5 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Given by Bickerton Pratt, 1951. | |
| Provenance | Harvey Nichols; Bickerton Pratt, by whom given to the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, 1951 | |
| Publications | Bulletin of the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, spring 1952, ill. p. 8. | |
| Notes | Abraham Janssens travelled to Rome in 1598-1601 and again around 1604. He became a member of the Romanist Society of Painters in Antwerp. Gerard Seghers travelled to Rome in 1608 and Rombouts followed in 1616 remaining there until about 1625. Here, like his Dutch contemporaries Hendrick Terbrugghen (1588-1629) and Gerit van Honthorst (1590-1656), Rombout's work was thoroughly influenced by the Caravaggesque tradition. The Russell-Cotes painting has been re-lined recently. |
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| Rights Owner | Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth | |
| Author | Francesco Nevola | |