Waarzegster leest de hand van een jonge vrouw 1841

This etching by Fanny Geefs-Corr depicts a fortune teller reading the palm of a young woman. The fortune teller, an enigmatic figure, raises her index finger, a gesture resonating with both authority and revelation. The act of palm reading is steeped in ancient symbolism. The lines on our hands, believed to be mapped by the stars, are read as a script of destiny. This practice, found across cultures from ancient India to Rome, reveals our enduring desire to decipher the unknown and control our fate. Think of how the raised finger is found pointing upwards in countless Renaissance depictions of John the Baptist, or even in da Vinci's Saint Anne; the gesture implies the imparting of secret knowledge and guidance. In essence, Geefs-Corr captures a timeless tableau of seeking and revelation. A symbol of cyclical history, recurring in various guises across eras and continents.