The Chess Players

This painting, dated c. 1520, is attributed to Lucas van Leyden. The subject is a game of "Courier Chess", a chess variant that appeared in Germany in the early 13th century. R.C. Bell, in his Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations (Dover Press, 1979), recounts a dramatic tale of the painting's peregrinations during World War II, as part of a treasure trove of Nazi loot.