the portrait of fourteen-year-old balthasar iii moretus at three-quarter length is more lively than the portraits of his parents painted a year earlier. the young man is pictured in a confident pose in a so-called "akimbo" posture. his costume is richly detailed and very fashionable. his whole posture with his shoulders held backwards and his mannered hands conveys an upbringing that attached paramount importance to physical elegance and required children to attend dancing classes to accomplish this goal. in the background of the painting there is again a view of the sky and an antique column.