A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand
1621–22
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
75.5 × 64.5 cm (30 × 25 3/8 in.); Framed: 100.7 × 88.6 × 5.4 cm (39 5/8 × 34 7/8 × 2 1/8 in.)
Classification
european painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
243872
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Depictions like this one of a boy blowing on a burning ember were popular among European painters studying illumination. Artists like Michelangelo and El Greco used this subject to showcase their skills at imitating nature, particularly the fleeting reflections of fi relight. In Gerrit van Honthorst’s version, the youth gazes quizzically at the viewer while blowing on the titular fi rebrand, which he is using to light the candle in his right hand. The boy wears a slashed doublet and a slouched, feat...
About the Artist
Gerrit van Honthorst · 1592–1656
The most well-known painter of the Utrecht Caravaggists, he is famed for his night scenes and dramatic lighting; later in his career he was in demand as a portraitist.