Two Boys Blowing Bubbles

Two Boys Blowing Bubbles is a painting by the seventeenth-century Walloon artist Michaelina Wautier. It has been suggested that the painting is a double portrait, given the specific facial expressions and costumes of the two boys depicted are so distinctive.[1] Besides the two boys, the painting depicts a candle and a sandtimer. As with the bubble, both are symbolic of the passing of time, and were familiar motifs in seventeenth-century painting.[2]

Two Boys Blowing Bubbles
ArtistMichaelina Wautier
Year1640s
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions90.5 cm × 121.3 cm (35.6 in × 47.8 in)

The painting was previously attributed to Jacob van Oost. However, research done in 2007 led to the re-attribution to Wautier.[3]

The painting hangs in the Seattle Art Museum who purchased it in 1958.[4] A second version by Wautier is in a private collection in Spain.[2] A third painting, executed in the eighteenth century and copying just the boy on the right, is in the Collection des Musee d'Amiens, France.[1]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Katlijne van der Stighelen; Gerlinde Gruber; Martha C. Howell; Jahel Sanzsalazar; Francesca Del Torre Scheuch; Ben van Beneden & Martine Van Elk (2018). Michaelina Wautier 1604–1689: Glorifying a Forgotten Talent (print book). Kontich, Antwerp, Belgium: BAI Publishers. ISBN 9789085867630. OCLC 1031438767 – via WorldCat.
  2. ^ a b "Michaelina, Baroque's Leading Lady" (PDF). p. 20/21. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Object of the Week: Boys Blowing Bubbles | SAM Blog". samblog.seattleartmuseum.org. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "Boys Blowing Bubbles – Works – eMuseum". art.seattleartmuseum.org. Retrieved August 20, 2018.