Framed Owners:

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The Chess Game

By Sofonisba Anguissola

Author Award for February 2023

A not unfamiliar scene in Italian Renaissance paintings, "The Chess Game" features players sitting around a chessboard. What's different in Anguissola's painting is that all the paintings' players are women. Chess was considered a recreational activity of intellectuals during the Renaissance, as opposed to cards or dice.

Those portrayed playing it were considered of high stock, and within "The Chess Game," the artist has included her three younger sisters, all of whom belonged to a highly-respected family. Interestingly, the queen in chess gained its current status as the most powerful piece around this time as numerous female monarchs took power in Europe.

Year: c. 1555
Medium: Oil on canvas
Location: National Museum, Poland

Ownership Stats

Players with unframed copies: 11
Players with framed copies: 23