Portrait of a Boy in Grey

747 voorzijde

Portrait of a Boy in Grey

Jacob Adriaensz Backer
1634

747 - zaal 10

This portrait is remarkable, mainly because Backer has painted it with a very limited palette of mostly shades of grey. He used a little red paint only for the cheeks and lips. Another remarkable feature is that the boy is looking down at us, which was not usually the case in children’s portraits.

The anonymous boy is wearing the clothes of an adult man. This was normal in those days for boys from the age of seven. He has draped his cloak over his shoulder, like an elegant gentleman.

oil on canvas
94.2 x 70.8 cm.
Gift C.A. Rose-Molewater via Rembrandt Association, Den Haag, 1914