Figure 1.--This is one of Jan Adam Kruseman's portrait, but unfortnately is not dated or the boy named. It is known as 'boy holding battledore and shuttlecock'. We would guess that it was painted in the 1830s, but we are not at all sure. He wears a brown, long tunic with a black belt. His shirt has a large collar which he wears with an orange bow-like stock. He wears the tunic with white pants and low-cut shoes. The boy looks to be about 8-9 years old. He is already to play badmitton. Notice the typical Dutch landscpe in the background. There is a ball and his black military-style cap t his gfeeyt.

Jan Adam Kruseman was born in Haarlem (1804). He came from an artistic family. He was trained by a second uncle, Cornelis Kruseman. His son Jan Theodoor Kruseman also became an artist. He studied in Brussels under François-Joseph Navez and Jacques-Louis David (1822–24). We do not know much about him at this time, but we have found several of his works. We notice works during the 1820s-50s, mostly portraits. He helped found the Amsterdam society Arti et Amicitiae (1839). He travelled in England, France and Germany to observe master wirks. He taught at at the Amsterdam Royal Academy of Art where he helped train quite a number of notable Dutch artists. We have found several excellent portaits he did of children. Most of the boys were dressed in brown or black tunics which may suggest colors trends in the Netherlands. Some but not all are named and dated. This one here of the badmitton boy is neither named nor dated (figure 1). Notice how a meticulously he has painted the tunic. A fashion historian could not hve asked for a more detailed depiction. He took over the care of his nephew, Petrus Augustus de Genestet, at the age of 7 years. The boy became a well-respected poet. Kruseman died (1862).

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Created: 7:43 PM 6/27/2015
Last updated: 7:43 PM 6/27/2015