A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand - Gerrit van Honthorst

Purchased with funds provided by the Old Masters Society, Julius Lewis and the Rhoades Foundation, Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan in memory of Alice Welsh Skilling and in honor of Marlene Welsh Phillips and Martha Wolff, Anne Searle Bent in honor of Martha Wolff, and Scott, Lynda, Jonathan, Shiran, and Lindsey Canel in honor of Martha Wolff; purchased with funds provided by Chauncey and Marion D. McCormick Family Foundation in honor of Martha Wolff; Marilyn H. Quinn Fund; purchased with funds provided by Mrs. John W. Madigan and Donald and Carol Asher; through prior gifts of Chester D. Tripp and of the Frederick T. Haskell Collection; purchased with funds provided by John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols in honor of Martha Wolff; Murray and Virginia Vale Purchase Fund; through prior gift of George F. Harding Collection; through prior gift of Ambrose Cramer; through prior purchase of Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection; through prior gift of Arthur B. Logan; purchased with funds provided by David Earle III and Marian Pawlick in honor of Martha Wolff

European Art Paintings

"A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand" by Gerrit van Honthorst (1621–22) Oil on canvas.

Commentary

"A Boy Blowing on a Firebrand" by Gerrit van Honthorst (1621–22) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrative alone. T hemes to notice include european, european painting. This piece is held in the source collection's Painting and Sculpture of Europe collection. Gerrit van Honthorst is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Gerrit van Honthorst (Dutch, 1592–1656). The work is cataloged within a Netherlands cultural context. It is associated with the european period. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as european painting, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Oil on canvas) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (75.5 × 64.5 cm (30 × 25 3/8 in.); Framed: 100.7 × 88.6 × 5.4 cm (39 5/8 × 34 7/8 × 2 1/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include european, european painting. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/243872

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data