The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds (c. 1640), oil on canvas, 106 x 146 cm, held in the Louvre Museum, Paris. G. de La Tour (1593-1652) is one of the most original painters of 17th-century France; although his style was influenced by Caravaggio, he cannot be denied his undeniable originality. He excelled at organizing compact and refined spaces, favored depicting special effects under faint candlelight, and often simplified these perfect forms to present unique spatial compositions within rigorous realism.

The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds (c. 1640): This work is another masterpiece of G. de La Tour’s Caravaggist period. Instead of faint candlelight in a dark environment, it depicts a secular scene under strong light, reflecting three major taboos of 17th-century society: women, wine, and gambling. The elaborately dressed gamblers in the painting are focused on their cards. The man on the left, backlit, appears to be a cheat holding cards in his right hand while cheating behind his back with the Ace of Diamonds in his left. A woman seated and standing in the middle, wearing an ornate hat and jewelry, colludes with the man on the left through eerie glances and expressive gestures. On the right, a handsome figure in gorgeous attire, golden bracelets, and a soft feathered hat (reminiscent of the handsome young man in Caravaggio’s The Fortune Teller) holds cards with both hands, exuding confidence. Through exquisite realism, rich and bright colors, and strong contrasts of light, the painting not only presents precise three-dimensionality but also reveals another facet of society.