Since the 16th century, fortune telling has been a popular subject of visual art. Dozens of painters (including Caravaggio, Georges de La Tour, Jacob van Oost, Mikhail Vrubel, Konstantin Makovsky, and Vasily Shebuev) have depicted scenes of Roma and Christmas divination practices. The paintings served an edifying purpose — in their pictures, the artists emphasized the gullibility of naive believers and the cunning of soothsayers. The painters also depicted the stark social contrast between the rich dressed in smart clothes decorated with exquisite lace and the poor vagabonds wearing rags.
“The Fortune Teller” by Simon de Vos was based on the biblical parable of the prodigal son. A young man became proud and left his father’s house to find his own way. Simon de Vos depicted the scene in which the young man had already dissipated his fortune and was relying on good luck wishing to know his future.
The noble spoiled young man inquiringly looks at the fortune-teller, who has already received a gold coin and took his hand. He seems naive and excited: he expects easy answers to his questions, and a happy solution of his problems. Divination was dangerous and risky in those times. The young man could be excommunicated by the church, and the Roma woman could face public scourging and be expelled from the town. It was not the first time that Simon de Vos addressed the theme of divination in his art. The painter sought to warn young people against the cruel world full of greed, selfishness and ubiquitous dangers.
All the lines in the painting flow and twist creating the impression of elusiveness and transience. The poses are complex and unstable; the faces show genuine interest in the process. The artist praises the joy of life and the generosity of its gifts, but at the same time he includes an implicit warning that luck is transient.
Simon de Vos was a Flemish painter and art collector. From the age of 12, he studied under the portrait painter with the same surname — Cornelis de Vos, and at the age of 17 he became a master in the Guild of Saint Luke. Simon de Vos created religious, history and allegorical paintings. He was also fond of genre scenes and group portraits.
“The Fortune Teller” by Simon de Vos was based on the biblical parable of the prodigal son. A young man became proud and left his father’s house to find his own way. Simon de Vos depicted the scene in which the young man had already dissipated his fortune and was relying on good luck wishing to know his future.
The noble spoiled young man inquiringly looks at the fortune-teller, who has already received a gold coin and took his hand. He seems naive and excited: he expects easy answers to his questions, and a happy solution of his problems. Divination was dangerous and risky in those times. The young man could be excommunicated by the church, and the Roma woman could face public scourging and be expelled from the town. It was not the first time that Simon de Vos addressed the theme of divination in his art. The painter sought to warn young people against the cruel world full of greed, selfishness and ubiquitous dangers.
All the lines in the painting flow and twist creating the impression of elusiveness and transience. The poses are complex and unstable; the faces show genuine interest in the process. The artist praises the joy of life and the generosity of its gifts, but at the same time he includes an implicit warning that luck is transient.
Simon de Vos was a Flemish painter and art collector. From the age of 12, he studied under the portrait painter with the same surname — Cornelis de Vos, and at the age of 17 he became a master in the Guild of Saint Luke. Simon de Vos created religious, history and allegorical paintings. He was also fond of genre scenes and group portraits.
