Rosy-Cheeked

Dating to around the turn of the eighteenth century, this well-painted and charming portrait shows a rosy-cheeked boy, possibly only four or five years of age, with an impish smile. Wearing a dark coat over a shirt with a broad frilled collar, his wavy hair falls over his shoulders.

The portrait is set in a gilt metal frame that is glazed on the reverse but does not contain any hair. There are specks of duct under the glass that the camera has magnified.

Edward Burch entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1769 going on to exhibit there between 1770 and 1808. He was also a sculptor and an engraver of gemstones. His son, Henry Jacob, was also a fine miniature painter. Examples of his work can be seen in the V & A Museum.