Total love for this portrait. I paid near what I'm asking for it, but for me the face of this child (a boy I believe) holds pretty much the whole world in it--curiosity, and perceptiveness, and eagerness, and perhaps a bit of mischief too...completely alive with spirit. The subject also seems much less like a "child" than a complex, full-fledged person! And radiant, those pink cheeks feeling as if truly blushing from within. Maybe this won't strike anyone else quite the way it strikes me, but I look at a lot of portraits, miniature ones especially, and it's a rare day I see one that feels as humanly true to me as this. Plus this gorgeous gilded frame casts its own light, which further illuminates the painting, a perfect match.
Frame: 5 3/4" x 5 1/4". Painting 3 1/8" x 2 5/8". As found. I believe the painting, oil on what appears to be card (I have not wanted to disturb it, but can open if needed), is late 18th/very early 19th century. The frame maybe just a little later. Painting not under glass. Painting shows fine craquelure and a bit of minor loss along the side edges (photos shot with several times magnification.) Frame shows general wear and age and some gilding loss here and there, all to my eye just right.
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