Soldiers Playing Cards, from the series Sixteen Peasant Subjects 1615 - 1684

Cornelis Bloemaert made this print, titled 'Soldiers Playing Cards,' as part of a series called 'Sixteen Peasant Subjects.' Prints such as this one allowed artists to explore subjects from outside the realm of official patronage, and here Bloemaert is able to depict the everyday leisure activities of common people. Made in the Netherlands, its cultural context is the ongoing Eighty Years’ War, in which the Dutch Republic was fighting for independence from Spain. We see three soldiers sitting on the ground beneath a tree, deeply engrossed in a card game, their drum and weapons discarded to the side. This image creates meaning through its depiction of soldiers at leisure, reflecting the everyday realities of military life during this period. It gives an insight into the recreational activities that took place in the downtime between battles. To understand this work better, historians might look at military records and social histories to understand the lives and experiences of soldiers in the Dutch army. Such research helps us appreciate the ways in which art reflects and comments on the social structures of its time.