Léonard Defrance Liège 1735 - 1805

The 18^th century Liègeois painter Léonard Defrance is known for his tavern scenes reminiscent of the Dutch and Flemish masters of the 17^th Century. In 1773 he travelled to Holland, where he was inspired by works of artists such as Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685) and David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690). His scenes show the same sort of inns with figures smoking and drinking, see for instance the signed Inn with figures around a Table, in Museum Bredius, The Hague (inv. no 47-1946) or with figures playing cards, as they do in the present work. The figures in Defrance's paintings however, do wear costumes from his own time.

Another version of this work, also not signed and with different measurements, is in a private collection (see F. Dehousse, M. Pacco and M. Pauchen, Léonard Defrance, L’oeuvre peint, Liège 1985, cat. no. 118, reproduced).