What card does the cheat hide in Georges de La Tour's Louvre painting?

The card the cheat hides in Georges de La Tour’s Louvre painting is the ace of diamonds.

The painting, usually titled The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds, shows a young cardsharp covertly drawing that ace from behind his back. A richly dressed young man at the right appears to be the victim, while the other figures seem to participate in the deception through distraction and collusion.

Georges de La Tour painted the Louvre version around 1636–1638. Its dramatic arrangement, sharply observed gestures, luxurious clothing, and theatrical light turn an ordinary card game into a compact moral drama about gambling, greed, and misplaced trust. The cheat’s sideways glance also implicates the viewer, who notices the fraud before the victim does.

A common mix-up comes from another version by La Tour, The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs. That related painting is in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth and features a different named ace. The Louvre canvas is specifically identified by the ace of diamonds being pulled from concealment.

The Louvre acquired its painting in 1972, and the work bears La Tour’s signature near the cardsharp’s elbow and beneath the tablecloth’s shadow.