Master John Heathcote

Thomas Gainsborough

National Gallery of Art

A young, light-skinned, rosy-cheeked child stands against a landscape of trees and rolling hills in this vertical portrait painting. Some areas are loosely painted, especially in the background, giving the portrait a soft look. The boy stands with his body angled to our left but he turns to look at us with clear gray-blue eyes under faint brows. He has a straight nose and his dark rose-pink, heart-shaped lips are closed. His wispy, honey-brown hair curls around his face and down the back of his neck. He wears a long, white, dress-like garment with bands of satin on the short sleeves and around the bottom. The garment is gathered at the waist with a wide, robin’s egg-blue sash tied in a bow, with ends that reach down to the ground from his left hip, on our right. The boy holds a small bouquet of white and yellow flowers white moss-green buds and stems in front of his belly with his left hand. His other arm hangs by his side and he holds a large black hat with a fluffy plume. The toe of one red shoe pokes out under his garment. Around the boy, the grasses, bushes, and trees are painted loosely in muted greens, browns, and golden yellows. The sky deepens from smoke gray at the upper left corner to pale yellow on the far-distant horizon.