The Master of the Gamblers (known in Italian as Maestro dei Giocatori) (''fl'' 1620 – 1640) is the

notname In art history, a ''Notname'' (, "necessity-name" or "contingency-name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled, or generically title ...

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 The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never establis ...

(followers of Michelangelo Merisi da

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

). The artist depicted

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

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 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, but a northern European background has also been proposed.Master of the Gamblers, ''Omnia vincit amor''
at Sotheby's

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.Gianni Papi, ''Il Maestro dei giocatori, anche maestro di temi musicali'', in: Caravaggio e la musica, a cura di S. Macioce e E. De Pascale, Roma, 2012, pp. 188-199 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.
at Sotheby's 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. Papi regards the artist as an Italian who was influenced by Caravaggio and close followers of Caravaggio such as José de Ribera,

Cecco del Caravaggio Cecco del Caravaggio (active – mid-1620s), is the notname given to a painter who worked in Rome in the early decades of the 17th century and was an important early follower of Caravaggio (1571–1610). In the past art historians have sugges ...

and

Tommaso Salini Tommaso Salini (1575 – 13 September 1625), also known as Mao Salini, was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period, active in Rome. He is best remembered for defending his friend, Giovanni Baglione, in his libel suit against Caravaggio a ...

.Master of the Gamblers, ''A man holding a wine flask and a pipe''
at Sotheby's Other art historians have described the characteristics of the style of the artist as situated between the Italian

Bartolomeo Manfredi Bartolomeo Manfredi (baptised 25 August 1582 – 12 December 1622) was an Italian painter, a leading member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) of the early 17th century. Life Manfredi was born in Ostiano, nea ...

and the Flemish artist

Theodoor Rombouts Theodoor Rombouts (2 July 1597 – 14 September 1637) was a Flemish painter who is mainly known for his Caravaggesque genre scenes depicting lively dramatic gatherings as well as religiously-themed works.Hans Vlieghe. "Rombouts, Theodoor." Gro ...

. They therefore believe the artist to be a Flemish or Dutch follower of Caravaggio. Other scholars see similarities with the work of French Caravaggio follower

Valentin de Boulogne Valentin de Boulogne (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632), sometimes referred to as Le Valentin, was a French painter in the tenebrist style. Origins Valentin was born in Coulommiers, France, where he was baptised in the parish of Saint ...

and therefore believe the artist to be French. The work location of the artist has also been the subject of dispute. While most scholars place the artist in Rome in the 1620s and 1630s some believe he worked in Naples.

Work

About 25 works have been attributed to the artist. The majority of the work of the artist deals with genre subjects of a

picaresque The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corr ...

nature such as gamblers including dice players; card players and morra players, musicians, sellers of fruit and vegetables and kitchen scenes, which were the type of low life scenes typically treated by Caravaggio and his followers. Another subject he depicted is ''The incredulity of St Thomas'' (At Sotheby's on 14–15 June 2011, Milan, lot 22 as 'Caravaggesque school'), also a theme treated by Caravaggio. An exception is the ''Omnia vincit amor'' (At Sotheby's London sale on 9 December 2009, lot 31), which shows a victorious Cupid based on a popular quotation from

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's Eclogues. Master of the Gamblers - Dice-players and a bird-seller gathered around a stone slab

The paintings attributed to the Master of the Gamblers are in a style reminiscent of other followers of Caravaggio but in particular of that of the young José de Ribera. The artist's work is close to that of the Caravaggesque painter

Pietro Paolini Pietro Paolini, called il Lucchese (3 June 1603 – 12 April 1681) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Working in Rome, Venice and finally his native Lucca, he was a follower of Caravaggio to whose work he responded in a very persona ...

who was also active in Rome around the same time. In the horizontal format and stylistic elements as well as his frequent treatment of musicians and musical instruments his works are reminiscent of Paolini. At the same time, the artist was able to forge his own style, which has made it relatively easy to identify his works. The characteristics of the Master's style are a vigorous, almost brutal, expressionism and naturalism, strong linear and characterful depictions of his figures' faces and gestures, crumbled surfaces and treating objects with a dramatic sculptural quality.Maestro dei Giocatori (active in Rome circa 1620/30), ''The beggar''
at Dorotheum 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

References

External links

* {{Authority control 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Italian Baroque painters