BARTOLOMEO MANFREDI

Manfredi's rendition of deception in this picture is particularly poignant. The young man, so intensely curious about his future, is oblivious to the theft of his money by the fortune-teller's accomplice. The fortune teller herself, so eager to captivate the young man's attention, does not notice that his friend is relieving her of a chicken. It is perhaps less a moral lesson that is given here than a matter-of fact pessimistic description of human relationships. Manfredi used dark tonalities to give the scene a sense of a seedy locale, while the life-size scale of the figures makes them part of our world and allows us to participate in their drama.