Kaartspelers en soldaten in een herberg c. 1842

Bernard Romain Julien created this print, depicting card players and soldiers in a tavern, sometime in the 19th century. The scene pulses with an atmosphere thick with revelry and perhaps something darker. At the heart of the composition, we see figures engrossed in a game of cards. The cards themselves are ancient symbols of fate and chance, tools that trigger our deepest fears and desires. One is reminded of similar scenes in Caravaggio's work, where games of chance hint at the precariousness of human existence. Look closely and you may notice that the figures surrounding the table whispering amongst themselves are also symbols of deception and hidden intentions. Such gestures have echoed through art history, resurfacing in various guises, from medieval morality plays to modern cinema. Consider how the emotional charge of this image is conveyed – the psychological tension inherent in games of chance, the subtle body language, the shared glances and the secrets being whispered. This is how collective anxieties of the past resurface, ever-present, adapting, and reminding us of the cyclical nature of human experience.