*This painting is sold but the artist is regularly available in our inventory		Isaac Luttichuys* London 1616 - 1673 Amsterdam Portrait of a Young Boy Oil on panel 10 1/2 x 12 7/8 inches (26.7 x 32.5 cm) Signed and dated: Isaac Luttichuijs fecit. 1640 Born in London, Isaac Luttichuys soon moved to Amsterdam where he and brother Simon Luttichuys, a still-life artist, studied.  His early works show the influence of portrait painter Dirck van Santvoort (1610 - 1680).  During this period Luttichuys was already producing the images of well-to-do burghers in which he specialized.  Two paintings by Luttichuys, Man on the Beach, 1641, and Family on the Beach of 1642, (Emden Museum, The Netherlands) have previously been accepted as his earliest examples.  Our picture, dated to 1640 and another portrait of a Man, dated 1638, are now his earliest known dated works, completed when he was just 22 and 24 years old. This superb, penetrating portrait, exemplifies Luttichuys’s ability to capture the character of his sitters in half-length portraits.  The focus of our painting is a delightful young boy.  Although we lack biographical information on the sitter, we are presented with a lively intelligent face that charmingly engages the viewer.  It is a striking portrait and our subject is presented in three-quarter view, posed against a neutral background.  The paint in the background is thinly applied so that the underlying ground shows through to add texture and depth.  The sitter leans to the side, supporting the shifted weight of his torso on his left forearm, which creates a strong diagonal element in the composition.  The diagonal element in our picture is further underlined by the young boy’s hat that is pushed down on the side of his head.  Luttichuys’s agility with delicate and subtle shading is apparent in our portrait.  The figure emerges from the dark background; light falling across his face from the left to reveal gentle, measured features and a broad smile that is also playing in his eyes.  The light that is falling on the young boy illuminates the head but keeps the body and subordinate parts in shadow.  Only a few flashes of dark blue in the material accentuate the restrained palette and the monochromatic jacket and background.  The dark collar, duplicating the color of the hat, is painted with broad, loose brushwork.  It leads the viewer’s eye to the sitter’s face and, by contrast, emphasizes the fineness and virtuosity of the brushstrokes that define his features.