Artwork preview

Ladies and Gentlemen Playing Billiards

Johann Esaias Nilson

National Gallery of Art

The image shows several individuals playing billiards in an ornate parlor. The composition includes full-body views of people around a large billiards table. One person stands in the center, holding a pool cue. Another figure lies across the table, interacting with someone leaning over with a cue. The people are dressed in 18th-century clothing, with ruffled shirts, waistcoats, long coats, and women in full-length dresses with detailed sleeves. The individuals' hair is styled according to the period, including wigs and neatly coiffed hair. The background features windows, wall panels, and decorative moldings, with an overhead light fixture above the table and a baroque-style scrollwork frame surrounding the scene.

Artwork Details

Date
1756
Medium
pen and black ink with gray and black wash over traces of graphite, heightened with white gouache on laid paper, incised throughout and laid down
Dimensions
4897 × 3482 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
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