Image Credit: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain
Hi-res image: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437154
Artist: Possibly Paulus Moreelse, Netherlandish (1571-1638)
Description: This portrait could very well represent a child born in a Dutch family in New Netherland. It gives an excellent impression of the clothing style worn in those days, with matching lace framing the delicate features of this little boy with shiny nose and amused look.
Metropolitan Museum Summary:
This charming portrait certainly represents a young boy, to judge from his attire. The collar follows adult male fashion of about 1637, a date consistent with the style of lace on the collar and cuffs (the lace on the cap is old-fashioned, suggesting that it was made about 1630). The doublet is decorated with gold passementerie; brownish gold bows and silver aglets surround the waist. The aglets were used to lace breeches to the doublet, or were merely symbolic of boyhood, when the child had not yet graduated from skirts to pants.
Reference:
Title: Portrait of a Young Boy
Artist: Style of Paulus Moreelse (Dutch, ca. 1637)
Medium: Oil on wood
Dimensions: Oval, 23 x 19 5/8 in. (58.4 x 49.8 cm)
Object Number: 59.23.17