His collar is also good use of texture with his medium as well, as it seems to stand out, or pop off the picture plane, in contrast to the shadows it creates on the material beneath it.
There is a wonderful use of chiaroscuro throughout this work, both in the subject himself, as well as the objects surrounding him. Looking upon this work you feel as though you are the source of light, as there is no other obvious light source evident to the on-looker, especially with the dark clouds behind the subject. The subject's face is shaded on his left side, and there are darker values used within his clothing to create the sense of folds and movement. The artist also used chiaroscuro to establish a light source by using shadows falling away to the background from the boy himself on the wood planks and on the bench. The artist chose this method of linear perspective for creating this 3-dimensional sense of depth and space. The pillar also has form, both by the shaded values on its edges and in the implied space between the flowers and their shadows upon it. This promotes the sense of a mass base object. There is also slight use of chiaroscuro in the braiding of the young boy's hat. This, along with the shading on the rim as it gets further away from the viewer and goes behind the boy, also shows depth.
Although there are not many colors used in this painting, the ones chosen have a lot of impact on the content of the work. The artist chose oils as his medium because of their richness, as opposed to say watercolor paint. The boy's clothing promotes wealth and regality. The deep red tone on his jacket, with its star-embedded buttons and lace collar, establishes a prestigious material. White pants were also placed on this youngster, which stands out next to the deep color of his top, and in contrast to the black of his shoes. His jacket is set apart in contrast to the dark green of the rolling hills behind him.
