Boy Holding a Sword, Standing near a Table in an Interior (recto); Various Sketches of Figures and Ornamental Forms (verso)
In a simple interior, a boy wearing an ample cloak stands near a chair and table, holding a sword and looking tensely at the viewer. Through the doorway in the left background, a sculpted bust on a wooden pedestal is visible. The drawing is a somewhat unusual example of the kind of genre scenes produced by numerous mid-seventeenth-century Dutch artists, depicting the young boy in a role usually reserved for a gentleman or soldier, and lending a slightly eerie character to the scene. The author of the drawing has not yet been identified; one of the monograms on the verso may offer a clue. The former attribution to Anthonie Palamedesz. (1601–1673), known for his interior scenes with soldiers, cannot longer be upheld, as is clear from a comparison with, for instance, a figure study by that artist in the Museum’s collection (acc. 2000.22).
Artwork Details
- Title: Boy Holding a Sword, Standing near a Table in an Interior (recto); Various Sketches of Figures and Ornamental Forms (verso)
- Artist: Anonymous, Dutch, 17th century
- Former Attribution: Anthonie Palamedesz. (Dutch, Delft 1601–1673 Amsterdam)
- Date: 17th century
- Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk (recto); pen and brown ink, black chalk (verso); framing lines in pen and brown ink, by a later hand
- Dimensions: Sheet: 6 3/8 × 4 3/16 in. (16.2 × 10.7 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of James David Draper, in memory of Walter Liedtke, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.608
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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