A Young Archer

Govert Flinck's A Young Archer (1639) demonstrates the Rembrandt pupil's command of the fanciful historical and exotic costume pieces that were fashionable in Amsterdam in the late 1630s. The young archer in exotic Eastern or historicizing dress — plumed hat, quiver, and bow — belongs to a genre of romantic figure studies that Rembrandt had pioneered and his pupils developed, appealing to collectors who wanted the psychological depth of portraiture combined with the fantasy of historical or oriental costume. The Wallace Collection's version is characteristic of Flinck's early period, when his technique was closest to Rembrandt's.

Flinck employs Rembrandtesque directional lighting to illuminate the young figure against a dark ground, with concentrated attention to the textures of the exotic costume — leather, feathers, metal fastenings. His handling is warm and confident, with the face given the most sustained painterly attention.