Daniel Crommelin Verplanck
Original title: Daniel Crommelin Verplanck
kurzbeschreibung
John Singleton Copley painted the young Daniel Crommelin Verplanck in 1771. In the oil on canvas, the boy sits atop a column and holds a squirrel on a chain.
Description
The boy has taken his place on a stone column, the chain with the squirrel hanging from it in his hand. He wears a red shirt, white trousers and black shoes. Behind him a landscape opens out with trees and a hill. Light falling in from the side picks out his features, while browns and greens set the palette of the background.
Context
This portrait was made in 1771, when Copley was enjoying his greatest success as a portrait painter in the American colonies. The sitter came from a wealthy New York merchant family. The picture was finished three years before Copley's final move to England in 1774.
Impact
The layout is calm and symmetrical, and the natural coloring adds to the serene overall impression. The boy with the squirrel gives the portrait a graceful, almost playful note.
Technique
The picture is executed in oil on canvas. Copley worked carefully and with close attention to detail, as was typical of his portraits, and used natural lighting that makes the figure stand out in three dimensions.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)