Painting was given to my grandfather by a man in Germany when he was stationed there during World War 2. I cannot find much info about it on the internet. I can however find plenty of info about "The Cardsharps". The paintings are very similar, but in my grandmothers painting, the two young boys are sitting at a table playing cards, and a man is standing in the background with a cape covering his face? There is something written in German on the back of the painting (don't have it in front of me, so I can't elaborate on that right now). Any info would be appreciated.
Guess who... that is what the painting looks like, but it is in color and it is called "the Card Cheat" on my gma's painting.. It has the same characters that are in "the Cardsharps", they are just in different positions. there is one other place I found it on emotioncards.com ? or something like that, it says it is use alot on postcards??
this is the website you can see it at
http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/webpics/playingcardcardcaravaggio.jpg

Have a look here..maybe you'll find some luck.

http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=The+Card+Cheat+painting&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Hi Allison!

Yes, I saw that. I am giving you homework as I'm cross-eyed from searching! I feel like Nancy Drew Vivian Krug-Hotchkiss owns Emotion Cards. Here is her contact information. She's in LA. She had to apply for copyright permission from 'someone' for the image. It is part of their "Museum Series" so documentation should well be available. I would absolutely contact the company and ask them for help. Don't give up!!!!
http://www.emotionscards.com/aboutus.html

http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/playingcardcards.html

It is referenced on her site as 'The Cheat' color numbered 12 Dresden Publisher: Granberg, Stockholm. I checked the museum archives as Dr. Granberg appeared to have funded the muesum and found nothing. The painting exists somewhere. I don't know how reliable the net data is. Here is the list for the Dresden Museum: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/attachments/persmap/List%20of%20works%20RC.doc

Also books for reference: Bernard Berenson, Caravaggio: His Incongruity and His Fame (1953); Walter Friedlaender, Caravaggio Studies (1955, reissued 1974); R.P. Hinks, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio: His Life, His Legend, His Works (1953); Giuseppe Delogu, Caravaggio (1962); Alfred Moir, Caravaggio (1982); Howard Hibbard, Caravaggio (1983), a synthesis of recent scholarship; and Richard E. Spear, Caravaggio and His Followers, rev. ed. (1975), on the artist's influence on 17th-century European painting.
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There exists an engraving as you describe by Caravaggio called "Cheating Gamblers."

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/ECC/ECC123/01100039.GIF&imgrefurl=http://www.fotosearch.com/ECC123/01100039/&h=208&w=300&sz=76&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=Fxj-gJWZbNcT1M:&tbnh=80&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCard%2BCheat%2Bpainting%2Bcaravaggio%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26ie%3DUTF-8

I wish you good luck!