The Fortune Teller
by LE PRINCE, Jean-Baptiste, Oil on canvas, 79 x 65 cm
One of the most popular of Le Prince’s Russified subjects, this work combines the influence of his master Fran�ois Boucher, especially in the portrayal of the female figure, and that of the Northern school, in the refined Rembrandtesque palette. Critics at the Salon of 1775 remarked particularly on the contrast between the rich fabrics and somewhat primitive interior.
There is another, signed version of this painting in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, and another in the National Gallery, London.