Openshaw is a Lancastrian name, which may suggest that this painting originated in the palatinate. The picture is inscribed on the back with the subject's name in large calligraphic letters. The child is clothed in the gown typical for small boys until the age of four years. His necklace relates to a superstition, dating back to classical antiquity, that coral warded off evil spirits. The hen fostering ducklings prompts the possiblity that the sitter was adopted. The somewhat Claudian landscape and the bright red of the dress cannot quite distract from the dislocation in the drawing of the chair which, nevertheless, conveys a great sense of depth.