Casanova Y Estorach

On the list of Top eBay Chess Items by Price, you often see paintings offered for thousands of dollars, but rarely do you see one of them sell. A recent exception is shown in the image below. The item, titled '1895 "The Chess Players" Antonio Casanova Y Estorach', received 1 bid for US $4500.

The painting's description said,

Fabulous original oil painting on board entitled "The Chess Players" by Antonio Casanova Y Estorach (Spanish 1847-1896). Signed top left "A. Casanova Y Estorach", and "Paris 1895". Framed in gilt wood frame. Old paper labels on back referring to title and previous owners name.

I found no Wikipedia entry for the artist in English, but there is one in Spanish: Antonio Casanova y Estorach. A scanned document displayed along with images of the painting further described the artist:

Exhibited in Paris and Madrid and won tremendous reknown for his rich coloring and exquisite draughtsmanship. Casanova's superb composition and charming choice of subject brought him worldwide fame and at his death he was estimated to be one of the wealthiest Spaniards of his day.

For more images of the artist's work, see Antoni Casanova Estorach on YouTube.