Boy with a Sword

What you see

A fair-haired boy stands at full length against an empty, dark brown background. He wears a black suit with a wide white collar, blue stockings and black shoes. With both hands he holds a sheathed sword that crosses his body diagonally, a broad leather belt hanging from it. His pale, serious face is what first catches the eye.

There is almost no setting: only the shadow at his feet marks the gray floor. A soft light picks out the face, the collar and the hilt, while the suit melts into the dimness. Watch for the golden glints on the belt as it hangs in a curve, and for the artist’s faint signature at lower left.