After Friedrich Moritz August Retzsch | ‘Die Schachspieler', oil on canvas incorporating a wall clock, c.1830s

A South German Picture Wall Clock with an image after Moritz Retzsch (German, 1779-1857)

The Game of Chess (Checkmate)

Inscribed Fesenmayer / Franz / 282/3 on the reverse

Oil on board

Image size 575 x 535mm (framed 775 x 735mm)

Like many artists of his generation, inspired by Goethe’s Faust published in 1808, engraver and painter Retzsch held a fascination for the story of Mephistopheles and his bet with God that Faust (a man seeking to learn all that is possible to learn) could be lured away from a righteous and honorable path. Retzsch famously illustrated German publisher Cotta’s 1818 edition of Faust in the form of 26 engravings, although the present composition was not among them.

Whether the composition originated as a painting or as an etching is not clear. What is known is that in 1831 Ernst Fleischer published what appears to be the first known print of the etching by Retzsch, and it is possible that Retzsch worked up his painted versions from this. One oil version was sold at Christie’s 7 October 1999. In any case, the widely available print made The Chess Players his best-known composition, and it was widely copied.

When American chess master Paul Morphy (1837-84) studied the composition years later, he noticed something surprising. By carefully analysing the position of the pieces, he concluded that the young man was not actually in checkmate, as it seemed. There was still one move that could place the Devil in check and turn the game around. This interpretation transformed the painting into a symbol of strategic hope: even when all seems lost, a clever move can change fate.