Who painted Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles?

Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles was painted by Matthijs Naiveu in 1650-01-01.

Where can I see Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles?

Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles is held by Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

What movement is Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles?

Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Artwork

Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles

Matthijs Naiveu , 1650

Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Matthijs Naiveu. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

About this work

Technique & Style

The formal composition centers on these figures within a domestic or playful setting, characteristic of the artist's approach to everyday life subjects.

Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 49.6 cm in height and 41.6 cm in width. As a genre scene, the painting depicts infants playing, specifically showing a boy and a girl interacting with a he-goat while blowing bubbles.

The formal composition centers on these figures within a domestic or playful setting, characteristic of the artist's approach to everyday life subjects.

History & Provenance

Created in 1650, the oil painting Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles is attributed to Matthijs Naiveu, though some records also associate Caspar Netscher with its creation. The work measures 49.6 by 41.6 centimeters and depicts children engaged in play with a goat and soap bubbles. Historically, the painting belonged to the Demidov collection, which was housed at the Villa San Donato. It currently resides in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Overview

Matthijs Naiveu’s oil painting, dated around 1650, presents a quiet domestic scene titled Boy and Girl Blowing Soap Bubbles. The work resides in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It captures two children seated on a windowsill, engaged in the simple pastime of creating soap bubbles, set against a dimly lit interior.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on a boy in a richly patterned red‑and‑black costume holding a bubble wand, while a girl in a pink dress watches the fragile spheres form. Their focused expressions suggest a moment of concentration and innocent play, underscored by two nude cherubic figures flanking the window, whose idle gazes add a subtle, perhaps allegorical, layer.

Context

The work belongs to a period when Dutch artists frequently depicted children at play, using such scenes to explore themes of transience and moral instruction. The inclusion of cherubs, common in Baroque symbolism, may hint at the fleeting nature of youth. The painting’s subdued atmosphere aligns with the broader cultural interest in modest, interior domesticity during the Dutch Golden Age.