The result was neither documentary photography nor a foreigner's fascination with the exotic, just a remarkable individual's engagement with what he saw.
La Tour's oil painting "The Fortune Teller" (circa 1630) captures the onlookers' fascination with an exotic-looking gypsy fortune teller, but also a wariness.
She tells the story of early exploration and the fascination with the exotic, detailing the crafty manoeuvring of foreign trade with China and the many influences that flowed back and forth across the water.