Sale: Dorotheum, Vienna, November 14, 1994, lot 43, illustrated

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This charming little picture is in very good state and could be hung as is. The paint layer seems to be clean and there are no retouches visible. The frame leaves the edges of the panel completely visible. This is clearly a picture in wonderful and untouched condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

In the summer of 1894 Kaufmann took a dramatic turn from his early genre subjects and traveled to what was then called Western Hungary to look for traditional communities where observant Jews still maintained their way of life.  G. Tobias Natter writes "for the first time, he painted an old yeshivah in Pressburg (Bratslava), and curious onlookers told him where he could find similar subjects....The next summer, he journeyed to Holleschau and was deeply impressed by its 16^th century synagogue. From that moment on, none of the hardships of traveling would keep him from discovering what he referred to as his "Promised Land" in a letter to a friend" (Isidor Kaufmann, 1853-1921, Vienna, 1995, p. 25).  When Kaufmann returned to his wife and family in Vienna, he set out to transfer to canvas the dozens of sketches and impressions from this extensive travels. He painted portraits of the venerable rabbis and young Talmudic scholars, as well as the sacred interiors of the synagogues and Sabbath rooms. He fused new ideas with older compositional elements so that repeated motifs appear throughout his body of work. For inspiration, he often visited the "Sabbath Room" he had created for the Old Jewish Museum in Vienna. In his portraits, like the present work, Kaufmann portrayed certain characteristics of his sitters, yet, according to Natter, they should not be viewed as exact representations of actual persons. Portrait of a Young Boy with Peyot is an intimate image of a young student wearing a tight fitting black kippa and a white shirt. Kaufmann omits all extraneous details, focusing the viewer on the young boy'ജs clear countenance. His penetrating gaze suggests an intellectual curiosity not uncommon for students of his age.⛦ With his head tilted in an inquisitive manner, he encapsulates the delicate balance between innocence and the maturity that knowledge imparts.