Chess on a Bearskin Rug

Just like most years, the choices for Top eBay Chess Items by Price dwindled at the start of the new year, after the frenzy of the yearend holiday season. The painting below, titled '19C Signed V. Landoza Oil Painting of a Chess Game Figural Parlor Scene', sold for US $415.05 after 22 bids from 11 bidders.

The description was a list of the painting's attributes, of which the most important were:-

Artist: V. Landoza
Medium: Oil
Painting Surface: Canvas
Features: Signed
Size: Medium (up to 36in.)
Originality: Original

The painting might also be titled 'What's on a man's mind?', not so much for the chess as for the second painting behind the players, perfectly positioned between two of them. Was this the 19th century equivalent of a balloon in a comic?

While looking for more about artist Landoza, I discovered that the same(?) painting had sold twice in 2017 on Ebth.com: in March for $1550 and in December for $326. For an earlier example of this phenomenon, see a previous 'Top eBay Chess Items' post, From EBTH to EBAY (July 2017). NB: It might be worth looking at 'Top Ebth Chess Items'.