A Youth with a Jug

"A Youth with a Jug" is a captivating oil painting from 1633 by Judith Leyster, currently held in a private collection. This intriguing piece first emerged in 1939 when it was part of Arthur Kay's collection. It was recognized as one of a series depicting the five senses by Leyster. By 1941, the collection had found its way to Georges Wildenstein's gallery in Buenos Aires.

In the 1950s, the series was dispersed, and one of the paintings was identified as Leyster's work by researcher Frima Fox Hofrichter in 1991. This particular painting eventually came into the possession of its current owner. By 2002, three of the paintings were reunited, though they were then attributed to Leyster's husband, Jan Miense Molenaer. There's still some debate about whether all five paintings were originally intended to be a set, but "A Youth with a Jug" is still credited to Judith Leyster.

The painting depicts a "kannekijker" or a person who gazes longingly into an empty jug, as if wishing for more wine to magically appear. Although the painting doesn't bear Leyster's signature, the boy's clothing closely resembles that in another of her attributed works housed in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. Notably, the famous Dutch painter Frans Hals also explored this theme in his painting "Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer."