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Artvestige is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any museum. All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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The Fortune Teller by Jan Steen

The Fortune Teller

Jan Steen·1653

Historical Context

This 1653 painting of The Fortune Teller depicts a traveling palmist reading a client's future, a popular subject in Dutch and Flemish genre painting. Fortune tellers were associated with trickery and deception, giving the apparently lighthearted scene a moral dimension. Steen worked in oil on panel and canvas with a warm, rich palette reflecting his training under Jan van Goyen and his admiration for Gerrit Dou. His workshop output, produced alongside careers as brewer and innkeeper, compris...

Technical Analysis

The genre scene shows Steen's early style, with careful attention to costume and gesture that convey the interaction between credulous client and shrewd fortune teller.

See It In Person

Munich Central Collecting Point

Munich, Germany

Visit museum website →

Quick Facts

Medium
Oil paint
Dimensions
73 × 60 cm
Era
Baroque
Style
Dutch Golden Age
Genre
Genre
Location
Munich Central Collecting Point, Munich
View on museum website →

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The Lovesick Maiden by Jan Steen

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