François Boucher
French, 1703­1770
Boy Holding a Carrot 
1738
Pastel on buff laid paper
30.6 x 24.1 cm
Helen Regenstein Collection, 1971.22

Boucher was the most famous painter and decorator during the reign of Louis XV in France. This charming and lively portrait, dated 1738, may be one of the artist’s first, and is one of his finest, pastel drawings. The boy’s head is turned, with lips parted as if to speak, and he has an amused or pleased expression. What do you think he is about to do?