Portrait of a Young Prince in Hungarian Uniform (Primary Title)
Pierre-Hubert Subleyras, French, 1699 - 1749 (Artist)
In this portrait of an unidentified boy in Rome,
Subleyras used many of the conventions of European
portraiture to affirm the sitter’s aristocratic dignity
and powerful social privilege. The allegorical and
symbolic allusions to childhood’s inevitable end create
a spectacular image displaying the boy’s future promise
and prestige. He holds a pocket watch, which will mark
the passage of time until adulthood. A small book, a
tambourine, and a shuttlecock overflow from a basket
in the foreground, but he pays them no heed, as though
ready to put away such childish things. The low-relief
scene in the background is an allegory of the raucous
behavior associated with youthful immaturity, a striking
contrast to the sitter’s composure and serene expression.
The expectation that the boy will one day become a
military commander is prefigured both by his costume
and by the territorial struggle between a cat and a dog
over possession of a biscuit that plays out at his feet.
The Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection
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