Tric-Trac Players

Tric-Trac Players from 1667, now in the Hermitage Museum, depicts a popular board game being played in a tavern setting. Tric-trac — a form of backgammon — was widely enjoyed in Dutch taverns and homes, and its depiction provided Steen with subject matter that combined social interaction with the implicit moral commentary on gambling and the misuse of leisure that ran throughout Dutch genre painting. The game requires both calculation and luck, and this combination of skill and chance — together with the money that typically accompanied such play — gave the subject its moralizing potential. Steen's treatment is warm and observational rather than heavy-handed in its moral instruction: the players' concentrated attention on the board communicates the absorption of the game without explicit condemnation of its social implications. The Hermitage Museum holds one of the great collections of Dutch and Flemish painting assembled by Russian imperial collectors, and this Steen belongs among the museum's important holdings in the genre. The 1667 date places this in Steen's mature period when his handling of interior light and subtle psychological observation was at its most refined.

The gaming scene demonstrates Steen's refined treatment of indoor activities, with careful attention to the board game, the players' expressions, and the warm tavern atmosphere.