London’s National Gallery is making headlines after it was discovered the institution housed a portrait of the most dripping eight-year-old of the 17th century. Visitors pointed out that the little boy in Ferdinand Bol’s “Portrait of Frederick Sluysken” (1652) appears to be wearing a pair of Nike sneakers while a white mark on his left shoe bears a striking resemblance to the Nike swoosh emblem.
Since the painting graces the walls of the gallery, visitors from all over the world enjoy discovering this little piece of contemporary culture shown in a historical work, joking that the boy must have been either”a time traveler” or the owner of the first pair of Nike shoes ever made.
The subject of the painting was recently identified as Frederick Sluysken, Bol’s wife’s second cousin. Turns out, Sluysken’s good taste isn’t just evident in its fashion-forward shoes that predate the shopping market by nearly 400 years, but also in all the finer things in life since he was the son of a wine merchant. And let’s be real here – the kid serves the face and he knows it based on his pose!
“It resonated with our social media followers when we posted a tweet on the artist’s birthday last year asking people to see if they could spot a more ‘modern’ detail. “on closer inspection of the shoes of the 8-year-old boy in the portrait,” a National Gallery spokesperson said in a statement to Hyperallergic.
The Dutch painter’s work was reportedly on loan from a private collection and was on display at the National Gallery until last February. The painting was sold at auction in 2015 by Sotheby’s London, fetching a hammer price of £5.19 million ($6.44 million). Although little is known about the painting’s earlier history, Sotheby’s catalog notes indicate that the work is “surely the finest portrait of Ferdinand Bol” and that it was a defining moment in his career. de Bol outside the shadow of his mentor, the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt. According to the condition report, the painting was remarkably intact with minimal and unobtrusive retouching efforts given its large size and storage in a Yorkshire castle.
While the white branding on Sluysken’s novelty heel shoe is almost certainly a reflection of light bouncing off a buckle, sneaker collector Brandon Martinez said the first thing he thought of upon seeing the painting was the rare 2012 Nike Wingtip “Mission Control” Collab between Nike, Cole Haan and controversial artist Tom Sachs – who would have been discontinued by Nike following several presentations detailing allegations of abuse in his studio. Although not a perfect match, the leather loafers are probably the closest to what Bol described.
“A more modern version would be the Nike “Kwondo 1” sneakers“, said Martinez Hyperallergicfeaturing an image of a sleek set of black and white leather sneakers with laser cut perforations from a Nike collaboration with South Korean rapper G-Dragon’s PEACEMINUSONE.
“The shape of the shoe in the paint is totally different for a sneaker,” Martinez remarked. “The wide, flat forefoot looks extremely uncomfortable. The thin ‘swoosh’ in the paint looks like the original design though,” he continued, referring to the original Nike emblem that was created by the graphic design student at the time. Caroline Davidson in 1971. The iconic “swoosh” was meant to mimic the wing shape of Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory.
Awkward or not, Sluysken takes it like a champ because he looks dignified and in control in his portrayal. “I guess if I was a time traveler flexing in rare Nikes, I’d strike a similar pose,” Martinez concluded.
