European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection Conversation Piece (Winter) Before 1750 Attributed to Joseph van Aken (also called Joseph Haecken), Flemish (active London), 1709 - 1749. Formerly attributed to William Hogarth, British, 1697 - 1764. Oil on canvas Currently not on view Cat. 822 John G. Johnson Collection, 1917 |
LabelA conversation piece is an informal group portrait set in an interior or garden setting. Popular in eighteenth-century England, such works often show fashionable people at leisure. This group of unidentified men and women are seated indoors playing a game of cards. Outside it is snowing, suggesting that the painting may illustrate Winter and might have been part of a series of paintings depicting the four seasons. |
