Innocents and Card Sharpers (A Game of Piquet)

Ernest Meissonier completed this Innocents and Card Sharpers (A Game of Piquet) in 1861, creating a tense scene of cavalrymen playing cards in a 17th-century setting. The composition draws on Dutch masters like Ter Borch and David Teniers, whose tavern scenes Meissonier clearly admired. Two young men on the right study their cards, seemingly unaware that their opponents are scheming against them.

The painting captures a moment of deception in progress. One soldier keeps his hand on his sword while the others watch the cards with predatory focus. Meissonier contrasts the naïve confidence of the young recruits with the calculating patience of the old soldiers, creating a narrative tension that rewards close looking. The title itself suggests the outcome before it happens.

Meissonier was born in Lyon and studied in Rome and Paris, becoming the leading painter of historical and military genre scenes in France. He was known for the refined detail of his small paintings. Margaret Davies purchased this work in 1910 and later bequeathed it to the National Museum Cardiff, where it remains today. The painting measures just 24.2 x 32.2 cm, typical of his intimate scale.