Portrait of a Boy

This profile image of a long-haired ear-ringed boy holding what appears to be a sword-hilt is similar to many of the tronies - small bust-length figures dressed in exotic costume - painted by Slabbaert’s possible master Gerrit Dou, Rembrandt’s first pupil (1628-31/2). Both Rembrandt and Dou popularised ‘niche’ pictures in which figures or an interior were framed by a stone niche.