Govert Flinck (1615 – 1660)

A Portrait of a Boy

Amsterdam, 1640

Oil on canvas

73.3 x 91.8 cm

This engaging portrait possibly shows David Leeuw who would have been about eight years old in 1640. 

He was related to the artist and was the son of a wealthy businessman and art collector.  The full-length pose and the boy’s fashionable dress indicate that he is the heir to wealth and position. Flinck was a pupil of Rembrandt in the mid-1630s.  The landscape, with its low horizon, brooding sky, and dominant brown colours, recalls those of his master.

Purchased 1940 (No.40.8)

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7 July 2020