François Xaver Henri Verbeeck

His mother and stepfather Michiel Mettepenningen let him start his artistic training as a pupil of Jan Baptist de Bie on 24 March 1701.

[5] He is regarded as a follower of Balthasar van den Bossche in his genre scenes and merry company paintings.

[3] The genre works of Verbeeck are mostly in the style of merry companies and typically depict a group of men and woman engaged in music making, drinking and card playing.

The Card players (Guernsey Museum & Art Gallery) depicts a scene of a company of two women and four men.

There may also be some plot afoot involving the two men not participating in the card game, possibly referring to an historic event or proverb well known at the time.

There is a feeling of things getting out of hand through the discarded empty bottles and the playing cards strewn on the floor.