Young Boy
- Catalog
- WD-Q06
- Artist
- Willem Drost
- Year
- c. 1655
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 40 × 37.5 cm
- Location
- Dr. Alfred Bader Collection, Milwaukee
Description
A small portrait of a young boy. Listed by Werner Sumowski as a Drost work but rejected by Jonathan Bikker in his 2006 monograph.
Analysis
This painting illustrates the ongoing scholarly debate about Drost's oeuvre. Sumowski included it in his catalogue of Rembrandt school paintings (no. 2259a), but Bikker rejected it in his monograph (R15). The small scale and subject are consistent with Drost's known works, but the execution may not meet the quality threshold for certain attribution.
Historical Context
The First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) raged during this period, with naval battles at Portland, the Gabbard, and Scheveningen where Admiral Maarten Tromp was killed. The Delft Thunderclap of 1654 devastated the city and killed Carel Fabritius, Rembrandt’s most gifted former pupil. Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated and converted to Catholicism in Rome. Blaise Pascal experienced his conversion to Jansenism. Drost worked independently in Amsterdam, competing in a vibrant art market while Rembrandt began his descent into bankruptcy.