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Portrait of a Boy

ca. 1805
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 634

Dressed stylishly in emulation of Mamluk warriors who came to Paris with Napoleon from Egypt after 1798, this puckish boy clutches his toys jealously—even as he holds out the possibility of a ball toss. The early history of the portrait remains unknown, as does the child’s identity, though the well-appointed interior and overall effect of playful indulgence point to aristocratic origins. Though Mamluk populations expanded in Paris at the brink of the nineteenth century, the absorption of their art and culture into French painting often took the form of exoticized depictions such as this that freely mixed authentic and imagined objects.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Boy
  • Artist: Louis Léopold Boilly (French, La Bassée 1761–1845 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1805
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 28 7/16 × 23 3/8 in. (72.3 × 59.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.21
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Study of Three Heads, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Black and white chalk, with stumping
Study of Three Heads
Louis Léopold Boilly
ca. 1823
The Card Players, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Lithograph
The Card Players
Louis Léopold Boilly
Delpech
1822
The Wedding Present, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Etching with stippling and engraving
The Wedding Present
Louis Léopold Boilly
ca. 1815
Hired Hands, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Lithograph
Hired Hands
Louis Léopold Boilly
Delpech
1822
The Comb Punch, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Lithograph; printed in blue, brown, black, green, yellow, and blue inks
The Comb Punch
Louis Léopold Boilly
Delpech
1822

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