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Billiards Paintings Gallery |
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Coolidge Dogs Playing Pool
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Gallery Description
Billiards is said to have evolved from the lawn games played the courts of Europe in the mid to late 1300s. People of those times had the fascination for bat-and-ball games from which these lawn games evolved. The game was introduced in Europe with the coming of the crusaders, during which time there was widespread changes taking place all over Europe. There are some contradictory opinions about the place of origin of billiards, many arguing that the game was invented in France because of the similarity of the word ‘billiards’ to French words. But there are otherS who argue that the game was not invented it France, it was adopted, loved and nurtured by the French.
All kinds of games met with a lot of opposition from the church at that time, which viewed entertainment of any form as a sin. But these games survived the decrees and prohibitions of the church and the rulers, and thrived in the rural towns and the outskirts of the city. The game had many variations depending on the place it was played. The objective of the game was to move the balls in the game to predetermined destinations. And these games were the ancestors of some of the modern day games like billiards, golf and croquet. There is no specific evidence about the origin of the billiards table but the earliest evidence was found in a 1470 inventory of the possessions of King Louis IX of France.
During the 1400s, the game became popular among people of the upper class and changes were made to adapt the outdoor game to one played on the table. During 1500s the game became popular all over France and started spreading to parts of Europe also.
An important innovation that transformed the game of billiards was the invention of the billiards cue. And with that came other refinements like leather tips, chalk, slate beds, fine cloth, rubber rails and also standard sizes for tables. The cue tips, the materials used for the table and the balls went through many changes over the years. By 1850s, the game became standardized with the equipments being similar to the ones being used today.
From that time, the game never had to look back. Now the game is popular all over the world, in clubs, casinos, homes and also in competitions. Go through our gallery of Billiards paintings for a wonderful collection of art works on this sport.
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Monday, September, 8 th
2008
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