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Attributed to Flemish School, 17th century

A Young Boy c. 1620

Oil on canvas | 88.7 x 58.4 cm (sight) | RCIN 401179

  • A full-length portrait of a red-haired young boy, facing the spectator, standing on a patterned carpet holding a posy of flowers in his right hand; he wears a green jacket with an orange floral pattern fastened by red buttons and a bow.

    During this period young children of both sexes wore ‘coats’ with skirts, which can make differentiating between boys and girls in portraits difficult. Small clues however can be revealing – the cut of the doublet seen here echoes fashionable styles for men at this date, suggesting that this painting portrays a boy. The careful arrangement of the pomegranate patterned fabric across the doublet and skirt would have required excess material and been expensive. The over-large scale of the pattern suggests it may have been remade from adult clothing.

    Provenance

    First recorded in 1978 in the West Drawing Room at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, described as 'Henry, Prince of Wales, as a child' by Daniel Mytens

  • Medium and techniques

    Oil on canvas

    Measurements

    88.7 x 58.4 cm (sight)

  • Category
    Object type(s)
  • Other number(s)
    Alternative title(s)

    Henry, Prince of Wales (1594-1612), previously identified as

    A child of Frederick V, King of Bohemia, previously identified as