Portrait of a Boy
ca. 1800
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mabel Johnson Langhorne
Accession Number
1956.11.41
Tags
About this artwork
In this portrait the artist captured the forceful and confident personality of a boy. The youth wears a jacket, red vest, and a stylish white cravat with an upturned collar, suggesting his future role in society as an upper-class gentleman. The sitter was probably eleven or twelve years old when his portrait was made, but his identity, as well as the artistâs, is unknown.
About the Artist
Unidentified (Italian)
The designation "Italian" in art collections typically refers to an anonymous artist or a loose attribution to works from Italian schools, rather than a specific individual. With 173 known artworks in the museum's collection, this entry likely encompasses paintings by unidentified masters active across various periods, such as the Renaissance, Baroque, or later eras. Early life and personal detail...