Large Striking Oil Painting of Boy with Sword
This is a beautiful executed painting of a small boy holding a sword.
It was painted in 1872 by C Buulteau. There are some small repairs.
This boy is wearing a child's dress as was a common practice in this time period.
Breeching was the occasion when a small boy was first dressed in breeches or trousers. From the mid-16th century until the late 19th or early 20th century, young boys in the Western world were unbreeched and wore gowns or dresses until an age that varied between two and eight.
The main reason for keeping boys in dresses was toilet training, or the lack thereof. The change was probably made once boys had reached the age when they could easily undo the rather complicated fastenings of many early modern breeches and trousers.