The Gypsy Fortune Teller

genre

In this painting the emphasis falls on the ludicrously foppish gull, his dress so extravagant, and his exaggerated stance based on the contrapposto of classical sculpture, while the majestic gypsy was perhaps inspired by the Borghese Zingarella. It can be noted that Spada's language figuratively embraces Caravaggio's, but is stylistically closer to the "academic" vision of the Carracci.

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About the Artist

Lionello Spada

1576 – 1622

Italian painter, born in Bologna in 1576, Lionello Spada was trained as a quadraturist in the workshop of Cesare Baglione. He was the companion, and, according to contemporaries, the assistant of Caravaggio, and he underwent his influence. He continued his development alongside of Dentone and Brizio, while at the same time gravitating increasingly towards the Carracci Academy. There he fell under the influence of Lodovico Carracci, whose stylistic tendencies remained a constant in all of Spada's subsequent production.

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