Portrait of a boy with a cat

Portrait of a Boy with a Cat from 1630 by Leyster combines child portraiture with the domestic animal subject that was popular in Dutch genre painting. The interaction between child and pet creates a scene of engaging naturalism. Leyster's images of children are among the warmest in the Dutch Golden Age, capturing natural poses and expressions with the same confident brushwork she brought to adult subjects. Working in Haarlem in the 1630s, she contributed significantly to genre painting befor...

The boy and cat are rendered with Leyster's characteristically direct, lively technique, the warm coloring and natural interaction creating an appealing genre portrait.