{"product_id":"the-chess-players-moritz-retzsch","title":"The Chess Players — Moritz Retzsch","description":"\u003cp style=\"font-size:1.12rem;line-height:1.55;margin:0 0 1.3em;color:#2b2723\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA young man is playing chess with the Devil, and the stake is his own soul. His guardian angel stands behind the board, watching. The pieces at the base of the table are skulls.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"font-size:.78rem;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#8a8177;margin:0 0 .8em\"\u003eThe story\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"line-height:1.7;margin:0 0 1em;color:#3a3530\"\u003eRetzsch painted it in 1831, at the height of Europe's obsession with the Faust legend — the bargain, the wager, the soul sold cheap. The Devil is smug. The young man has his head in his hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"line-height:1.7;margin:0 0 1em;color:#3a3530\"\u003eIt looks like checkmate. That is the whole point of the picture, and it is why people have argued about it for two centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"line-height:1.7;margin:0 0 1em;color:#3a3530\"\u003eThe legend that grew up around it says the American chess champion Paul Morphy stood in front of a print of this painting, studied the board, and announced that the young man was not beaten at all — that there was still one move on it. Nobody has ever proved the story true. It has outlived the painting's fame anyway, which tells you something about what people want a picture to mean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"border-left:3px solid #c9a227;padding:.2em 0 .2em 1em;margin:1.6em 0;color:#5a5248\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDark, detailed, and a conversation starter. Best somewhere people sit down — a study, a games room, beside a bookshelf.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"font-size:.78rem;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#8a8177;margin:0 0 .7em\"\u003eWhat arrives\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul style=\"margin:0 0 1.4em;padding-left:1.1em;line-height:1.7\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrinted on canvas and set in a wooden frame — not a poster, not paper behind glass.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMade to order after you buy it, then shipped worldwide.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMoritz Retzsch, 1831. Public domain — free to reproduce, which is the only reason a canvas like this can cost what it does.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReproduced from a full-resolution scan of the original painting.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"font-size:.78rem;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#8a8177;margin:0 0 .7em\"\u003eGood to know\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"line-height:1.65;color:#5a5248;margin:0 0 1.4em\"\u003eScreens are backlit and canvas is not. Colours read deeper and softer on the wall than they do here. Sizes are the framed dimensions. This painting is wider than it is tall, and the sizes below match its proportions almost exactly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin:0;padding:.75em 1em;background:#f6f2e8;border-radius:4px;font-size:.92rem;color:#5a5248\"\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"color:#2b2723\"\u003eBuy any two prints, the third is half price.\u003c\/strong\u003e Applied automatically at checkout — no code needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin:2.6em 0 0;padding:26px 22px 24px;background:#F5F0E8;border:1px solid #E6E1DA;border-radius:18px\"\u003e\n  \u003cdiv style=\"margin:0 0 .55em\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/paintings-with-a-story\" style=\"display:inline-block;text-decoration:none;font-size:.7rem;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:700;color:#8A6D1F;background:#F3EBD9;border:1px solid #E4D8BC;border-radius:999px;padding:.42em .9em\"\u003ePaintings with a Story · see the set\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-family:Fraunces,Georgia,serif;font-size:1.35rem;font-weight:600;letter-spacing:-.02em;line-height:1.2;margin:0 0 .4em;color:#2B2723\"\u003eFinish the wall\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"line-height:1.6;color:#5A5248;margin:0 0 1.3em;max-width:60ch;font-size:.96rem\"\u003eFour pictures worth owning for what happened in them. Each is sized to its own proportions, so pick the scale that suits your wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:14px;align-items:stretch\"\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/the-raft-of-the-medusa-theodore-gericault\" style=\"flex:1 1 190px;min-width:0;display:block;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;background:#FBF8F2;border:1px solid #E6E1DA;border-radius:14px;overflow:hidden\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0844\/3265\/0476\/files\/mock-gericault-medusa_7b12abd9-7446-4f42-b1b0-6df506d15b67.jpg?v=1787710489\u0026amp;width=760\" alt=\"The Raft of the Medusa\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;aspect-ratio:1\/1;object-fit:cover;background:#F5F0E8\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;padding:14px 15px 16px\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.95rem;font-weight:600;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:-.01em;color:#2B2723;overflow-wrap:break-word\"\u003eThe Raft of the Medusa\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.83rem;color:#8A8177;margin-top:2px;overflow-wrap:break-word\"\u003eThéodore Géricault\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.88rem;color:#2B2723;font-weight:600;margin-top:8px\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:400;color:#8A8177\"\u003efrom\u003c\/span\u003e $139\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/daniel-in-the-lions-den-briton-riviere\" style=\"flex:1 1 190px;min-width:0;display:block;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;background:#FBF8F2;border:1px solid #E6E1DA;border-radius:14px;overflow:hidden\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0844\/3265\/0476\/files\/mock-riviere-daniel_6a5f6b5c-2d0e-4a65-aac1-36fd06e1b373.jpg?v=1787710490\u0026amp;width=760\" alt=\"Daniel in the Lions' Den\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;aspect-ratio:1\/1;object-fit:cover;background:#F5F0E8\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;padding:14px 15px 16px\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.95rem;font-weight:600;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:-.01em;color:#2B2723;overflow-wrap:break-word\"\u003eDaniel in the Lions' Den\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.83rem;color:#8A8177;margin-top:2px;overflow-wrap:break-word\"\u003eBriton Rivière\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.88rem;color:#2B2723;font-weight:600;margin-top:8px\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:400;color:#8A8177\"\u003efrom\u003c\/span\u003e $139\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/llywelyn-and-his-brave-hound-gelert-gourlay-steell\" style=\"flex:1 1 190px;min-width:0;display:block;text-decoration:none;color:inherit;background:#FBF8F2;border:1px solid #E6E1DA;border-radius:14px;overflow:hidden\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0844\/3265\/0476\/files\/mock-steell-gelert_a1bc4a32-8718-4920-bf23-3e7b7ace5160.jpg?v=1787710490\u0026amp;width=760\" alt=\"Llywelyn and his Brave Hound, Gelert\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;aspect-ratio:1\/1;object-fit:cover;background:#F5F0E8\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;padding:14px 15px 16px\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.95rem;font-weight:600;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:-.01em;color:#2B2723;overflow-wrap:break-word\"\u003eLlywelyn and his Brave Hound, Gelert\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.83rem;color:#8A8177;margin-top:2px;overflow-wrap:break-word\"\u003eGourlay Steell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:block;font-size:.88rem;color:#2B2723;font-weight:600;margin-top:8px\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:400;color:#8A8177\"\u003efrom\u003c\/span\u003e $119\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n  \u003cdiv style=\"margin:1.4em 0 0;padding:.85em 1.1em;background:#FBF8F2;border:1px solid #E6E1DA;border-radius:10px;font-size:.92rem;color:#5A5248;line-height:1.5\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#2B2723\"\u003eBuy any two, the third is half price.\u003c\/strong\u003e Applied automatically at checkout — no code needed.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Fuvala","offers":[{"title":"14\" × 11\"","offer_id":48232731279596,"sku":null,"price":99.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20\" × 16\"","offer_id":48232731312364,"sku":null,"price":159.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"30\" × 24\"","offer_id":48232731345132,"sku":null,"price":259.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0844\/3265\/0476\/files\/mock-retzsch-chess_3a3792ee-3384-444a-ba5d-88a0507a2893.jpg?v=1787710489","url":"https:\/\/fuvala.com\/products\/the-chess-players-moritz-retzsch","provider":"Fuvala","version":"1.0","type":"link"}