The Fortune Teller

c. 1640

Jean Ganière, after Valentin de Boulogne

Associated Names
Jean Ganière

Artist, French, died 1666

Augustin Quesnel

Publisher, French, active 1639 - 1644

Valentin de Boulogne

Artist After, French, 1591 - 1632

The image shows a group of eight individuals gathered around a table. They are positioned closely together, some leaning over the table, engaging with each other. The individuals display a variety of facial features. The man on the far left has a long beard and curly hair partially hidden under a feathered helmet; next to him, a man with straight hair, dressed in a soldier's attire, leans in attentively. Others around the table have wavy hair and a range of expressions. The man at the center, facing away from the viewer, wears a cap with feathers and a waistcoat with elaborate patterns. The group is dressed in clothing typical of the Renaissance period, including decorative sleeves, helmets, and cloaks. They hold objects such as a glass, and one person is pouring from a jug, while another holds a bat-like object under the table. The background is a simple, cross-hatched texture without specific details. A person on the far right holds another object.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching with engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Faya Causey in memory of Philip Conisbee

  • Dimensions

    plate: 34 × 49 cm (13 3/8 × 19 5/16 in.)
    sheet: 35.1 × 50.2 cm (13 13/16 × 19 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2013.184.5

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    IFF(1600), no. 32, State i/ii


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Faya Causey, Washington, D.C.); gift to NGA, 2013.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1939

  • IFF (1600), no. 32, i/ii

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: Valentin pinxit et inuentor in Roma / Ganières sculpsit; lower right in plate: Aug. Quesnel excud. / Rue Betizi, A Paris; lower center in plate: four verses (Apres diverses adventures... / ...Que ceux qui s'amusent à boire); by later hand, lower center in graphite: H3; by later hand, lower center in brown ink: 38R(?)

Wikidata ID

Q77006353

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