Follower of Hieronymus Janssens, 'Ladies and Gentlemen playing La Main Chaude', probably 1655-65
About the work
Overview
A group of men and women play a game called La Main Chaude (‘the hot hand’), which involved one person hiding their face on the lap of another, placing their hand behind their back and then guessing who has hit that hand.
The artist, a follower of the Flemish painter Hieronymus Janssens, has placed the man bent over at the middle of the painting’s composition, so that his upturned hand is a central point around which the action of the scene develops. Four people crowd around a woman who is about to use her shoe to smack the prone man’s hand; a serving boy watches, taking his eyes off the glass precariously balanced on his platter.
Standing prominently to the left is a lady holding up her yellow skirts, possibly in order to tip-toe away from the game, or perhaps to cause a diversion. A small dog, meanwhile, is distracted by something outside the picture frame.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Ladies and Gentlemen playing La Main Chaude
- Artist
- Follower of Hieronymus Janssens
- Artist dates
- 1624 - 1693
- Date made
- probably 1655-65
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 26.8 × 39 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by George Kingsley, 1939
- Inventory number
- NG4976
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Gregory Martin, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School: circa 1600–circa 1900’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1986Martin, Gregory, National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School, circa 1600 - circa 1900, London 1986
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.