Strong draughtsmanship; a dark, broadly brushed palette; and dramatic lighting are evidence of artist David Neal’s training at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany, during the 1860s. Interested in historic narrative painting, Neal also became an accomplished portraitist. The young boy with a violin is 12-year-old Robert Garrett (1875–1961), the son of financier Thomas Harrison Garrett. Educated by private tutors and exclusive French boarding schools, Robert exudes an air of privilege. He would grow up to be not only a banker and philanthropist, but also an Olympic athlete, earning medals at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 and Paris in 1900. Garrett would also be instrumental in bringing the Antioch mosaics to the BMA. They are on view nearby in the Museum’s Schaefer Court. The large egg-and-dart gilt molding is original to this picture, which may once have been built into an architectural scheme.