The Artist's Son, Louis
Maker
Amédée van Loo
(French, ca. 1719 - 1795)
Collections
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Date1764
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions23 1/4 x 20 1/8 in. (59.1 x 51.1 cm.)
SignedSigned and dated in lower right of recto: Amedée Van Loo / 1764
InscribedSigned and dated in lower right of recto: Amedée Van Loo / 1764
Inscribed on verso: Louis Vanloo peint par son pere
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Label TextFour-year-old Louis van Loo leans out of an illusionistic oval window to twirl a pinwheel made out of playing cards. Commonplace playthings in the 18th century, pinwheels and playing cards were also conventional signifiers of vanitas, or mortality. The painting can thus be understood on several different levels: as an engaging portrait of a young child, as a charming genre scene of a childhood pastime, and as a meditation on the fleeting joys of youth.Status
On viewObject number44.105
