A Boy Smiling c. 1750

Editor: So here we have Francesco Zuccarelli's "A Boy Smiling," made around 1750. It's a drawing, seemingly in charcoal and pencil. It has a wonderful soft quality. What strikes me is the boy's knowing gaze and the subtle hint of a smile. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, immediately, I think about the rise of the Rococo portrait and the shifting social dynamics that informed it. This isn't the stiff formality of earlier aristocratic portraiture. The intimacy created here seems intended for a wider audience, facilitated by the accessibility of drawing. Does that imply a different relationship between the sitter and the viewer, a burgeoning middle class perhaps hungry for images of affable gentility? Who do you think would have commissioned and viewed such a piece? Editor: Perhaps it was intended for the family or close friends? Something more personal, rather than a display of power. Curator: Precisely! Consider how images were circulated at this time. Drawings like this could be easily copied as engravings and disseminated more widely, shaping perceptions of youth and innocence. It is very possible this innocent looking image would have been widely viewed. Can we consider the ethics of mass producing images, particularly with children as subjects? Editor: I hadn’t considered that at all. I guess I was stuck on just seeing it as a sweet image. Curator: And that’s the power of these works! They appear simple, innocent even, but they're steeped in the complexities of their time. Thinking about their production and circulation adds so much more. What do you make of the composition and framing itself? Editor: It keeps the focus entirely on the face, which brings the viewer into that specific and intense experience of beholding. Considering how portraits were starting to be seen by a wider audience adds such an interesting layer. Curator: Exactly! I’ve learned so much today thinking through who saw images of youth. Editor: I totally agree, that changed my understanding completely.