> Home > >
Giocatori e suonatori al lume di candela Siena
Artist: Rutilio Manetti
Year: 1626 circa
Current location: Collezione Chigi Saracini
DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION
"Gamblers and Musicians by Candlelight," also known as the Allegory of the Vice of Gambling and Lust, is a famous oil on canvas painting by the Sienese painter Rutilio Manetti, created around 1626.
The painting represents one of the pinnacles of Rutilio Manetti's Caravaggesque and "tenebrous" phase.
The artist was profoundly influenced by the tavern scenes and the shades of light introduced to Tuscany by Caravaggio's followers, particularly Northern masters such as Gerrit van Honthorst (known in Italy as Gherardo delle Notti).
The scene is set in a dark interior, lit exclusively by the artificial, flickering light of a candle. This device creates strong chiaroscuro contrasts that make the faces and details of the characters emerge from the darkness.
The group consists of figures intent on playing cards or dice, flanked by musicians playing period instruments.
The realistic details include coins scattered on the table and knowing glances between those present.
Beyond the realistic depiction of a seventeenth-century inn, the canvas conceals a profound moral and didactic intent.
It constitutes an allegory of lust and the dangers of gambling, deadly sins frequently condemned in Counter-Reformation painting of the time through seemingly profane genre scenes.
Giocatori e suonatori al lume di candela