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Artist Victor Marais-Milton
Game of Checkers
Victor Marais-Milton lived from 1872 to 1948,
near Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
"A Game of Patience"
by game of checkers artist Artist Victor Marais-Milton.
- Late in the 19th century, France saw a revival in
anecdotal genre painting with themes and imagery that
were steeped in the established norms of the 19th century
and followed the contemporary political, social and cultural trends.
- Since the French Revolution there had been an increase
in religious images because of a growing anti-clericalism and
the current trend as the 20th century approached was to mock
the institution and its representatives so that modern artists
had the opportunity to create satirical images of clerics.
- Artist Victor Marais-Milton's motifs
generally featured humorous depictions
of his clerical subjects or common Parisian
leisure scenes in his oil paintings.
- Marais-Milton’s church genre scenes were full of
subtle social commentary made with a touch of humor as he used
irony to point a finger at the role and function of the church at the time.
- Artist Victor Marais-Milton depicted
the Bishops, Prelates and Cardinals in
vivid and wonderfully picturesque scarlet
robes and portrayed the figures in recreational
settings, idling their time away while
playing musical instruments and singing
or socializing over parlor games and conversation.
- Since his humorous commentary was so subtle and tasteful,
he did not offend the clergy and actually won various prizes
for his creative themes and colorful settings.
- Victor Marais-Milton also displayed a meticulous sense of
detail in the representation of the typical cultural scene in
France and the constructed veracity allowed the viewer to
engage in the activity or to identify with the moment it displayed.
- ‘A Game
of Patience’ depicted an
upper class couple immersed in a leisurely
game of checkers in their parlor
and the scene was developed with a meticulous
sense of detail that imbued the couple
with qualities of reality that showed
their particular time period.
- The motif displayed the relaxed atmosphere between the
couple in a simple setting, effused in rich color and harmony
within the composition and represented the casual posture at
the checkerboard as a past time popular with the upper class.
- This famous game of checkers artist Victor
Marais-Milton, was a member of the Salon
of French Artists where he actively exhibited
his work from 1892; he also exhibited his
artwork in Paris, Monte Carlo, Anvers,
London, Germany and in the United States of America.
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