Head of a Young Boy

Niederländische Malerei 1645–1660, c. 1650

The head and shoulders of a young, pale-skinned boy fill this oval portrait painting. His shoulders are angled to our right, but he turns his face to look at us out of the corners of his large, dark blue eyes. His round cheeks and nose are slightly flushed, and his full, pink lips are closed over a cleft chin. His wavy brown hair falls to his shoulders and around his high, lace-edged collar. The boy’s brown doublet has small buttons down the front, which falls open over a linen shirt. His sleeves are also slit almost up to the shoulders to reveal linen there, too. Light from high to our left falls across the boy’s face and casts the ocean-green background into shadow.
Artist
Niederländische Malerei 1645–1660
Date
c. 1650
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on copper
Dimensions
overall (oval): 7.5 × 5.9 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

The head and shoulders of a young, pale-skinned boy fill this oval portrait painting. His shoulders are angled to our right, but he turns his face to look at us out of the corners of his large, dark blue eyes. His round cheeks and nose are slightly flushed, and his full, pink lips are closed over a cleft chin. His wavy brown hair falls to his shoulders and around his high, lace-edged collar. The boy’s brown doublet has small buttons down the front, which falls open over a linen shirt. His sleeves are also slit almost up to the shoulders to reveal linen there, too. Light from high to our left falls across the boy’s face and casts the ocean-green background into shadow.

Niederländische Malerei 1645–1660