Skip to main content

Adolph Menzel, Blind Man's Buff

Key facts
Full title Blind Man's Buff
Artist Adolph Menzel
Artist dates 1815 - 1905
Date made 1867
Medium and support Gouache on paper laid on cardboard
Dimensions 29.4 × 22.7 cm
Inscription summary Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit On loan from a private collection
Inventory number L1218
Location Room 45
Image copyright On loan from a private collection, © Private collection, London
Collection Main Collection
Blind Man's Buff
Adolph Menzel

A young girl announces her presence to the man in armour by thrusting flowers at him. We see only his merry eyes. Yet this frivolous game is overshadowed by a glowering figure behind. Menzel is a master at depicting surfaces, hard and soft, and at suggesting enigmatic psychological states.

Why can't I download this image?

The National Gallery has endeavoured to make as many images of the collection as possible available for non-commercial use. However, an image of this painting is not available to download. This may be due to third party copyright restrictions.

If you require a license for commercial use of this image, please use the National Gallery Company's Online Picture Library or contact them using the following:

More paintings by Adolph Menzel

Afternoon in the Tuileries Gardens
Afternoon in the Tuileries Gardens
Adolph Menzel
In the summer of 1867, the German artist Adolph Menzel visited Paris for nine weeks. While there, he almost certainly went to Manet’s temporary pavilion, which for a few days was situated near the Universal Exhibition. The pavilion displayed around 50 of Manet’s paintings, including Music in the...
Room 45