You buy from the studio that paints it — no gallery markup, no reseller margin. Final quote depends on size, frame and destination.
Price by canvas size
Every The Card Players we paint is made to order, so the price tracks the canvas size and the amount of brushwork involved. These are the sizes our customers order most:
| Size (inches) | Size (cm) | Estimated price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 × 20 in | 40 × 50 cm | $369 | A small wall, a gallery group, an office |
| 24 × 32 in | 60 × 80 cm | $649 | Bedroom, hallway, above a console |
| 35 × 47 in | 90 × 120 cm | $1,099 | Above a sofa or bed, living room focal wall |
| 47 × 63 in | 120 × 160 cm | $1,499 | Large wall, open-plan room, hospitality |
Estimates only — the final quote depends on your exact size, frame and shipping destination. Framing and shipping are quoted separately. Duties and import taxes are the buyer's responsibility (DAP).
Tell us your size and frame — we reply with an exact quote, usually within the hour.
💬 Get a The Card Players Quote on WhatsAppWhy a quiet painting is the hardest one to copy
With no story and no movement, the only thing holding the picture together is the paint itself: the weight of the brush, the direction of each stroke, the way the dark jackets sit against the warm table. Cézanne built it with slow, loaded strokes that keep their direction, so the surface has a physical grain that catches light from the side.
Printing removes that grain completely. What is left is a flat, dark scene of two men — the very thing people mean when they say a print looks dead. Hand-painted with directional strokes and a warm ground showing through the darks, the canvas has the same weight as the original.
There is a test we encourage buyers to use on any "oil painting" they are offered: run a fingernail very gently across the surface. A hand-painted canvas feels like terrain. A print feels like glass.
The painting itself
The largest version, painted around 1894–95, hangs in the Musée d'Orsay; a smaller four-figure version sold in 2011 for a price reported around $250 million, then the highest ever paid for a painting. Cézanne made more than a dozen preparatory drawings and oil studies for the series — an unusual amount of preparation for a scene of ordinary men in a village room.
What makes it modern is the refusal to tell a story. Our painters work it with a deliberately limited palette — tobacco brown, blue-grey, dull red, cream — because adding colour turns it into a genre scene and loses the point.
How our painters reproduce it
Our studio is in Dafen Oil Painting Village, Shenzhen — the centre of hand-painted oil reproduction for more than thirty years. A The Card Players here is not traced, projected or transferred. The painter works freehand from a high-resolution reference, in layers:
- Composition and ground. The canvas is toned and the main forms laid out in a thin underpainting, matching the original proportions to your chosen size.
- Colour build-up. The palette is mixed in oil, not acrylic — only oil gives the same depth, slow blending and the slightly translucent glow the original depends on.
- Impasto and surface passes. The signature strokes go on last, loaded with paint, following the direction of the original's brushwork. This is the slowest and most skilful stage.
- Drying and inspection. Layered oil needs days to set properly. We let it. Then the finished canvas is checked against the reference for colour, composition and stroke character.
Where it hangs best
Two men, a table, a bottle — and nothing else. Everything depends on the paint. Rooms our customers choose most often:
- Study, library or snug — a painting about concentration, for a room you sit still in
- Games room or bar corner — the obvious subject, and the obvious wall
- Office or meeting room — quiet, serious, non-decorative
- Hospitality — hotel bars, private members' rooms, cigar lounges
Framing
Choose gold to echo the original's warmth, matte black for a contemporary room, walnut for a traditional interior, or no frame at all as a gallery-wrap canvas ready to hang. Frames are quoted separately and packed with corner protection.
How ordering works
- Tell us the painting, size and frame. WhatsApp is fastest — include a wall photo if you want sizing advice.
- Get an exact quote. Usually within the hour, with the timeline confirmed in writing.
- 70% deposit starts the painting. Paid by bank transfer, PayPal, credit card or Wise.
- We send photographs of the finished painting. You review it before anything ships. If something clearly does not match your order notes, tell us and we adjust it.
- Pay the 30% balance, then we ship. Tracked worldwide courier, rolled in a rigid tube or crated if framed.
FAQ
Is this hand-painted or printed?
100% hand-painted in oil on artist canvas by a studio painter in Dafen. No printing, no transfer, no giclée. You can feel the brushwork on the surface.
How much does it cost?
Est. $369–$1499 depending on canvas size, from 16 × 20 in up to 47 × 63 in. Frame and shipping quoted separately.
Can I order a size that is not on the list?
Yes — any size. The painter works freehand on a blank canvas, so we can also crop the composition slightly to fit your wall proportions.
How do I approve it before shipping?
We send photographs of the finished painting. You approve first, then pay the 30% balance and we ship. If something clearly does not match your order notes, tell us and we adjust it before it leaves.
How long does it take?
Most take 2–4 weeks depending on size and the studio queue. Layered oil needs proper drying time. The timeline is confirmed in writing before any deposit.
Who pays import duty?
Shipping is worldwide and tracked, typically DHL or FedEx, quoted separately. Import duties and taxes in your country are the buyer's responsibility (DAP).
Ready to commission a real The Card Players? Send the size and frame — quote back within the hour.
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