The Card Players by Paul Cezanne

Paul Cézanne's The Card Players, painted between 1890 and 1892, is one of at least five variations of men playing cards in a café. In this version, the bottle on the table, with its gleaming white highlight, divides the composition in two, calling attention to the light and dark tonalities of the dress of the two figures. The Card Players by Paul Cézanne is not so much a portrait of the two men as it is an exploration of the potential nuance of volume and color.

The Card Players by Paul Cézanne (oil on canvas, 18-3/4x22-1/2 inches) hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Ultimately, Paul Cézanne would break away from the Impressionists, charting his own course. Read on to learn about a painting from later in Paul Cézanne's career.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

• Impressionism
• Vincent van Gogh
• Claude Monet