In Verlegenheit. Gemälde von Ed. Grützner.

Title

In Verlegenheit. Gemälde von Ed. Grützner.

Decorative depiction of card players and a monk, in a rural parlour by a beer stein. After Eduard Grützner (1846-1925) 'The Card Game'.

ca. 1880

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

Playing cards originated in East Asia. Playing cards probably did not originate until the 12th-13th centuries, and the earliest playing cards can be traced back to 12th century Korea and China. Early illustrations show that the cards were originally folded and not held in a fanned manner, suggesting that originally only games of chance were played and not combination games. From China, playing cards made their way to India and Persia, as well as to Arab countries, and towards the end of the 14th century they also came to Europe, where they were initially popular in Italy and France. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the playing card hands known today were formed, with the French, German and Spanish hands gaining the greatest popularity. Many well-known card games originated in France and spread to Germany and other regions from the 17th and 18th centuries, including Bassette and its further development Pharo, as well as Piquet and L'Hombre. The modern double-headed playing cards emerged at the end of the 18th century, and from the 19th century the backs of playing cards were also printed, first with marbled motifs, later with dot and dash patterns, and finally with the Scottish check pattern still in use today.1 Games such as Skat, Whist, and Bridge were developed during this period, followed by Canasta and Rummy at the beginning of the 20th century.