Smiling boy holding grapes in his hat

Smiling Boy Holding Grapes in His Hat from 1629 by Judith Leyster at LACMA is a genre scene capturing youthful high spirits with characteristic vivacity. The grape harvest subject adds seasonal specificity to the image of childish pleasure. 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 pai...

The boy's broad smile is captured with Leyster's lively brushwork, the grapes and hat rendered with naturalistic detail within an animated, warmly lit composition.