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panel transferred to canvas The present work has been dated by Kultzen to Sweert's period of activity in Amsterdam circa 1658/9 - autumn of 1661, when he seems to have concentrated on portraiture. Sweerts probably executed portraits in his younger days in Rome although his portraits of children seem to date from his subsequent activity in Brussels from 1656 - circa 1658/9. Kultzen notes that Sweert's preference for depicting children, ``seems to be explained partly by the fresh simplicity of the children's faces. Uninhibited and untouched by experience, their malleable features offer an ideal opportunity of applying set rules of portraiture.'' In discussing the present work, Kultzen notes that the pose of the boy ``recalls the pose of a model in a drawing class'' and adds, ``Sweerts manipulates the light to bring out the plasticity of the figure, a favorite technique of his. This is particularly striking in the unexpectedly light area in the right background.'' The present lot is sold together with a photo certificate from Dr. Rolf Kultzen dated 25 February, 1999.