3-028-220 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

"Good Luck", by C. Baugniet, in the International Exhibition, 1871. Engraving of a painting '...by the Belgian artist, M. C. Baugniet...an amusing bit of "genteel comedy," as fine in its humour as it is delicate and finished in execution. The dramatis personae of the scene are selected with judgment; their expressions are conceived with propriety and rendered with tact. The witch of the picture is a true Bohémienne...the younger ones of the family, with their lithe forms and swarthy skins, their elfin locks and dark watchful eyes, are of the pure gipsy breed. The assurance with which the priestess of futurity whispers the bonne fortune she has pretended to divine from the cards at her feet and the palm she holds in her own is also perfectly characteristic...The ladies themselves, without being in the least vulgarised, are precisely such as might be capable of the weakness of seeking a fortune-teller. They are idle, self-indulgent, well-nourished pleasure-seekers, not at all "strong minded women," not over-burdened with intelligence...We all know from the frequent testimony of the police reports that belief in fortunetellers still prevails among the lower orders; and the picture...bears witness to similar credulity among higher classes'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.