Portrait of Józef Sapieha

The picture shows Józef Sapieha (1737-1792), son of Ignacy, the Royal Cup-Bearer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As a hunting portrait of a child, this picture is unique in 18th c. Polish art. Painted with glazing to render the delicate features of the boy's face, and with impasto in the parts of the golden embroidery, kept in warm tones of intensive greens and bronzes, with skillfully placed bright spots imitating light reflexes, the picture is a proof of the mastery of its author.