Artwork
Portrait of a Young Boy

Portrait of a Young Boy is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Paulus Moreelse. It dates from 1637 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The iconography is limited to the depiction of the boy himself, without additional symbolic attributes or allegorical elements described in available records.
Created in 1637 by Paulus Moreelse, this oil painting on panel presents a portrait of a young boy. The work functions as a straightforward representation of its sitter, with the child serving as the sole main subject. The iconography is limited to the depiction of the boy himself, without additional symbolic attributes or allegorical elements described in available records.
As a genre portrait, the piece focuses on capturing the likeness and presence of the youthful figure rather than conveying a complex narrative or specific symbolic meaning beyond the identity of the depicted individual.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on a wooden panel, dated 1637, as recorded in the object's documentation. The medium consists of oil paint applied to the panel support, a technique used in portraiture. The composition presents a young boy as the main subject, rendered with attention to facial detail and clothing.
The painting is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is cataloged as a portrait.
History & Provenance
The painting now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art was created in 1637, as recorded by the internal cataloguing of Paulus Moreelse’s work.
The canvas entered the museum’s holdings as part of its European Paintings collection, where it is catalogued under the accession identifier associated with Moreelse’s oeuvre. Its dimensions, 58.4 cm in height and 49.8 cm in width, are consistent with the format of mid-seventeenth-century Dutch portrait panels.
Overview
Paulus Moreelse completed "Portrait of a Young Boy" in 1637, utilizing oil paint as his medium. This painting captures the likeness of an unidentified youth. It is currently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it offers insight into 17th-century Dutch portraiture and the societal conventions of the period.
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