This unusual subject presented the artist with a challenge—rendering floral wallpaper, a plaid jacket, and the fine print of a newspaper in the dotted brushwork of Neo-Impressionism.
   The balanced composition and elegantly drawn figure reflect Delavallée’s traditional training. From 1887 through 1890 he worked in a Neo-Impressionist mode, though here his palette shows more reliance on Impressionism than Seurat’s color theories.
   The young shoe polisher is reading Gil Blas, a popular Parisian journal that offered news and serialized novels. The portrait is the first full-figure likeness to enter the IMA’s Neo-Impressionist collection. Though his identity is not known, the unnamed boy retains a distinct individuality.

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