A boy at the beginning of puberty is dressed in a select but too big shirt and jacket, which will likely suit him perfectly before soon. The image is painted with a limited number of colour hues, which is nevertheless richer than in a typical portrait of an adult man. Colour surfaces are clear-cut, the limits between them are softened by transparent strokes of the colour that is closer to the viewer in spatial terms (hair, face, upper jacket). The painting can be ranked in the upper half of Stroj’s capacity of rendering carnation: The latter could be painted as flat and uniform in tone, or realistically with tonal emphases, like in this boy, or else brilliant with tonal depth, which is reminiscent of the works by Jožef Tominc. Several facial features of the boy are shaded with greenish tone which is found in the earlier works by Anton Karinger and Tominc.
Valentin Krisper was the son of the Ljubljana merchant Anton Krisper, and around ten when this portrait was made. He later studied law in Vienna and became a prominent criminal attorney. He also defended in court the author and politician Ivan Tavčar.
Lit: dr. Barbara Jaki, Meščanska slika, Ljubljana 2000, p. 229