Portrait of Jonathan Buttol by Thomas Gainsborough

This portrait is often called the “Blue Boy”. Against the background of an alarming sky on the ground, there is a boy in a satin blue suit.

In the gloomy air of the evening, he is among the grasses and stones, like a glowing strange light, like a blue shimmering glow. He stands firmly, but, it seems, at any moment is ready to wave his hat and run, or jump on his horse and wither away. Fleeting light glides across the folds of the jacket. The boy is concentrated, but his gaze is directed as though through us, further, beyond the horizon.

The image is full of boyish mischief, grace and light purity.

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