Master of the Gamblers

A kitchen interior with a sturgeon, a turtle, and the figure of an old man in red, c. 1620s

The Master of the Gamblers (known in Italian as Maestro dei Giocatori) (fl 1620 – 1640) is the notname given to a painter active in Rome and possibly also in Naples in the second and third decade of the 17th century, whose subject matter and style rank him among the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio). The artist depicted genre subjects and still life elements in his works in a stark naturalist manner. The identity and nationality of the artist are not known. Art historians have yet to arrive at a unanimous view on the nationality, work location and the oeuvre of the artist. He may have been Italian, but a northern European background has also been proposed.

Discovery and identification of the artist

The Italian art historian Gianni Papi coined the notname of the artist after he identified a number of paintings in a Caravaggist style as being by the same hand. In a number of articles on the artist published starting from 1998 Papi has grouped a total of 25 works, which he ascribed to the artist. These paintings mainly depict scenes with gamblers, dice players and sellers of food. It this thematic link, which formed the principal reason for grouping them together as by the same artist. The notname Master of the Gamblers was chosen because the first paintings given to the artist depicted players of cards and dice. Other art historians have described the characteristics of the style of the artist as situated between the Italian Bartolomeo Manfredi and the Flemish artist Theodoor Rombouts. They therefore believe the artist to be a Flemish or Dutch follower of Caravaggio.

The Master of the Gamblers showed a strong interest in still life painting and many of his pictures with fruit and vegetable sellers give ample space to the still life elements, which are worked out extensively. The still life elements in his works are rendered with a strong naturalism reminiscent of Cecco del Caravaggio.