| A Young Archer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Govaert Flinck |
| Year | c. 1639–1640 |
| Medium | Oil on oak panel |
| Dimensions | 66.2 cm× 50.8 cm(26.1 in× 20.0 in) |
| Location | Wallace Collection |
A Young Archer is an oil painting, painted about 1640 by the Dutch Golden Age artist Govaert Flinck. The painting depicts a young black boy dressed as an archer. [1] The painting is in the collection of the Wallace Collection, in London, England. [1]
For many years the painting was believed to have been the work of Rembrandt, and was purchased as such by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, in 1848. [1] Flinck had studied under Rembrandt in 1631–32, and his style had become so closely associated with him that for many years a self portrait by Flinck in the National Gallery, London, was thought to have been a portrait of Rembrandt. [2] Flinck painted numerous works in the style of Rembrandt when there was a demand for his work in the 1630s and 1640s. [3] The true origin of the painting was discovered after it was cleaned in 1913, and the signature believed to be by Rembrandt turned out to have been falsely added later. [3] A signature beginning with the letter "f" was discovered. [3] The painting had been reattributed to Flinck by 1928. [3]
The style of the painting is known as a "tronie", meaning "a head, a face, or expression". Tronies were not portraits of named people but character studies of exotic figures. [2]
This painting was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1915, who wrote: [4]
Two inscriptions for the portrait exist. The first, an engraving by Cornelis Visscher (c.1648) reads:
"Dus heft den Moor met pijl en Boogh / Den vyandt of het wilt in't oogh" (Thus lifts the Moor his bow and arrow / The enemy [or wildlife] to eye)
In the 1750 reproduction of Visscher's portrait, held at the British Museum and published by George Pulley of London, the caption below describes the archer as an American Indian, [6] replacing the word Moor for Indian, the words being interchangeable at the time: [7]
Thus Arm’d, the Indian with his Dart & Bow / Pursues with eager Eye, his Woodland Foe
Rembrandt also portrayed people of African origin, including black soldiers and figures in armour. [2] It is not known whether the boy was a model, in the army, or a huntsman of a Dutch country estate. [2] Art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon wrote of the subject of A Young Archer in 2004 that
Whether the young man painted by Flinck was actually from the Sudan, or not, it seems likely that the painter intended to show him as a living embodiment of the proud, martial spirit of the Nubian race – a poignant contrast to his actual situation, as a first-generation African slave...The solemn, thoughtful humanity of Flinck's portrayal makes it unusual, among early Western European depictions of black Africans, suggesting at the very least a bond between the artist and the sitter. [3]
The 1750 reproduction of Visscher's portrait, published by George Pulley of London, describes the subject as an Indian, presumably of American origin. [6]