English: Artist Unknown

Georgian Era Boy, Wearing an Oversized Cap
and Standing at the Gravesite of What is Presumed to
Be either His Deceased Older Brother or Late Father

English
circa 1800
Artist Unknown

2 x 2 1/2 inches (sight); full frame measures 5 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches

watercolor on ivory; housed under glass in a later,
lemon-gilt wooden frame

About the Portrait: Depicted is a young boy, standing at a gravesite (represented by the classical image of an urn on a plinth). He wears an oversized cap that one easily imagines belonged to either a deceased older brother or his late father. The boy's confident pose suggests he is either the new master of the manor or is the eldest surviving heir that will someday inherit his family's lands. A bucolic scene is depicted behind the boy, including a manor home, a lake or river, trees and a waterfall. The gold tones of the boy's cap, as well as the rich blues and grays used throughout the portrait, lend well to the mood evoked by the painter.