Body: <p>I came upon the following wonderful painting by Sofonisba Anguissola, ‘<a href="http://earlymodernwomen.blogspot.com/2010/03/sofonisba-anguissola-first-great-woman.html" rel="noreferrer">The first great woman artist of the renaissance</a>,’ of her sisters playing chess (painted 1555). </p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/wrCOQ.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/wrCOQ.jpg" alt="Sofonisba Anguissola (1555) her sisters playing chess"></a></p>
  
  <p>The painting is truly sublime. Chess players will notice, however, that the color of the squares on the board is the opposite from what is usually used in modern games, with light on the right, and so it made me wonder about the history of this convention. When did the light-on-the-right convention come into prominence? Has it been long established that way? Is this painting illustrating a different custom at that time, or rather might it be explained by an artist inventing a scene and not aware of the custom?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-28T23:58:43.387Z
Comments.Text: My wife points out that if this image were a reversed photo of the actual painting, which seems possible, then perhaps the actual painting does not depict a reversed chessboard. But all the online images of the painting I have found have this orientation, so I find it likely that the image is not reversed.
Comments.UserDisplayName: JDH
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-29T06:27:51.207Z
Comments.Text: The second definitely occurs - a more modern example http://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-simpsons-feat-magnus-carlsen/
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ian Bush
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-29T13:37:10.507Z
Comments.Text: @IanBush And here is another example: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DustinAbbottTWI/posts/WJaBZDKmJ8A.
Comments.UserDisplayName: JDH
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T17:11:55.010Z
Comments.Text: The painting is indeed sublime. I've spent half an hour looking at an enlarged version; it's one of those paintings that gain more and more depth the more you look at them. I didn't know it or Sofonisba Anguissola before, so I'm very grateful. Two of the best things in life at the same time: Chess and art.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Oliver Scholz
Tags: <rules><history>
Title: When did the light-on-the-right convention ascend to dominance?
ThreadText: # When did the light-on-the-right convention ascend to dominance?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2017-03-28)
  
  I came upon the following wonderful painting by Sofonisba Anguissola, ‘[The first great woman artist of the renaissance](http://earlymodernwomen.blogspot.com/2010/03/sofonisba-anguissola-first-great-woman.html),’ of her sisters playing chess (painted 1555).
  
  [![Sofonisba Anguissola (1555) her sisters playing chess](https://i.sstatic.net/wrCOQ.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/wrCOQ.jpg)
  
  The painting is truly sublime. Chess players will notice, however, that the color of the squares on the board is the opposite from what is usually used in modern games, with light on the right, and so it made me wonder about the history of this convention. When did the light-on-the-right convention come into prominence? Has it been long established that way? Is this painting illustrating a different custom at that time, or rather might it be explained by an artist inventing a scene and not aware of the custom?
  
  **Tags:** rules, history
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: My wife points out that if this image were a reversed photo of the actual painting, which seems possible, then perhaps the actual painting does not depict a reversed chessboard. But all the online images of the painting I have found have this orientation, so I find it likely that the image is not reversed.  
  > **username_1**: The second definitely occurs - a more modern example http://www.englishchess.org.uk/the-simpsons-feat-magnus-carlsen/  
  > **username_0**: @IanBush And here is another example: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DustinAbbottTWI/posts/WJaBZDKmJ8A.  
  > **username_2**: The painting is indeed sublime. I've spent half an hour looking at an enlarged version; it's one of those paintings that gain more and more depth the more you look at them. I didn't know it or Sofonisba Anguissola before, so I'm very grateful. Two of the best things in life at the same time: Chess and art.  
  
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  ## 0 answers
  
  