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The Fortune-Teller

probably 1630s
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 622

Darting eyes and busy hands create a captivating narrative between otherwise staid figures, each of which is richly clothed in meticulously painted combinations of color and texture. La Tour took on a theme popularized in Northern Europe by prints and in Rome by Caravaggio: an old Roma (formerly identified with the derisive term "Gypsy") woman reads the young man’s fortune as her beautiful companions take the opportunity to rob him. This celebrated painting, which was only discovered in the mid-twentieth century, is inscribed with the name of the town where the artist lived in northeastern France, supporting the possibility that he developed such works independent of Caravaggio’s precedent.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Fortune-Teller
  • Artist: Georges de La Tour (French, Vic-sur-Seille 1593–1652 Lunéville)
  • Date: probably 1630s
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 40 1/8 x 48 5/8 in. (101.9 x 123.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1960
  • Object Number: 60.30
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

Audio

Cover Image for 2651. The Fortune Teller

2651. The Fortune Teller

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