[Sidenote:
_Wool and Silk._
H. 4 _ft._ 11 _in._
W. 6 _ft._ 6 _in._
]
THE FORTUNE-TELLER: _Two peasant girls seated on the ground by a fountain
are having their fortune told by another girl. A naked baby clings to
her skirts. From one side a goat looks on inquisitively. It is signed F.
Boucher and dated._
[Sidenote: Illustrated: _Fénaille, L'Etat général des Tapisseries de la
Manufacture des Gobelins, Dix-huitième Siècle_, 2me Partie, p. 238.]
This is one of a series of cartoons in small size made by Boucher for the
Gobelins while he was director. They were very popular and have been woven
a number of times.
The piece shows how remarkably the delicate gradations of tone, on which
Boucher's essential quality depended, could be translated into the weave
by the extraordinarily skillful craftsmen of the Gobelins.
[Sidenote: Lent by _Duveen Brothers_. ]
As in all of Boucher's cartoons, the subject is only an occasion for his
own charming decorative mannerisms. As a rendition of peasant life, it
is interesting to contrast this cartoon with the honest literalness of
Teniers (cf. Nos. 47-49).
[Sidenote: 69]