3-011-921 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

"The Reverse of Fortune", by Mademoiselle Amanda Fougère...the Paris Exhibition of Fine Arts, 1864. Engraving of a painting. 'The subject is sufficiently expressive to render a detailed description unnecessary; but how beautiful the widow appears in her grief, and what nobleness of expression we perceive in the face and attitude of this bereaved woman as she offers her jewels for sale to the calculating Jew! Her child, who is scarcely old enough to comprehend the extent of the misfortune, appears to sympathise with the mother's anguish. The Jew dealer, who naturally depreciates the value of the offered jewels, is drawn with remarkable power, and painted in a manner which strongly reminds us of the colouring of the ancient masters. Altogether, in this picture of "The Reverse of Fortune,'' Mdlle. Amanda Fougère has displayed the same harmony of composition, the same severity of outline, and the same depth of sentiment which have characterised her previous contributions to many of the annual Salons of the Palace of Industry, where her works always attract much of the public admiration'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.