The ‘Old Masters’
I’ve been looking at some classic art recently to get an idea of how artists hundred of years ago used the theme of chess in their compositions. The game position on this circa 1508 oil painting by Dutch painter/engraver Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533) certainly invokes a raised eyebrow:
Lucas may have had “marvelous skills as a colorist” and “deft and fluid brushwork”, but his “vivid imaginative powers” led him to append several extra files in an impressive display of artistic license. Let’s zoom in to the position…
At least he put a white square in the right hand corner… hey wait… there’s three red corners!