ABSTRACT
In 1630, the Amsterdam portrait painter and architect Thomas de Keyser created one of his most finely crafted paintings: the Portrait of a Young Silversmith (Fig. 1). 1 Although at first glance it appears to be a monochrome composition showing a young man in dark garments surrounded by drawings and silver objects, upon closer inspection the painting broadcasts color. The youth wears a rich olive-brown jacket lined in purple satin, the brilliant Persian rug adorning the table is patterned in deep blue, and there are yellow and blue highlights glinting on the silver surfaces of the elaborate covered beaker on the table and the saltcellar in the youth’s extended right hand. The drawings – one held in his left hand, the others rolled up on, piled up on, and even spilling off the table – are depicted as being done in brown chalk on white and prepared papers of eggshell blue and a sumptuous red. De Keyser crafted the reflections and highlights with care: for example, the red paper is reflected in delicate rose tints on the underside of the paper above it. The artist labored over the surface of the panel as he sought out a compositional solution and fixed on the strange, rubbery pose of the sitter, who seems to be slipping off his seat. De Keyser moved the youth’s right foot several times before he was satisfied, and the cloak that is now sliding off the chair appears to have once lain completely on the floor.
