Skittle-players

This is one of the principal works of Rippl-Rónai's "black" period. The figures, delineated with just a few bare contours and dark areas of colour, bear witness to the calm and economy of motion that attracted Rippl-Rónai to the game. This and other similar paintings of the time, slightly sketched with a thin coat of paint, reveal the influence of an important group of artists including Vuillard Bonnard, Valloton and Denis, wwho came to regard Rippl-Rónai as one of their group.