Boy in a Cape and Turban, Jan Lievens (1631)
Portrait of Prince Rupert of the Palatinate
Jan Lievens has depicted a smooth-faced boy exotically dressed in a golden cape attached with a chain clasp and a blue and gold turban festooned with the soaring plume of a bird of paradise. Light falling from the left illuminates the brilliant, shimmering fabrics of his wardrobe, a symphony of yellows, golds, and blues that bespeaks wealth and privilege. As exquisitely as Lievens has rendered the fabrics, even more remarkable is the sensitivity with which he has characterized the sitter’s expression. As the youth stands with one hand clasping his richly decorated cloth belt, he stares out to left with wide open eyes with a serious demeanor that conveys both dignity and inner resolve.
