1879
albumin paper 9.4 × 5.9 cm, mounted on cardboard 10.4 × 6.2 cm,
printed inscription "Brandel / Warszawa" on the front, inscription "Brandel / Warszawa / Nowy Świat / 59" printed on the reverse
vintage

The portrait shows Konrad Seweryn, the photographer’s son, who was seven years old at the time. The featured photograph comes from a famous session. Brandel hand-retouched another, nearly identical, print made during the session, widening the boy’s smile. The thus "reworked" Portrait of a Smiling Boy, together with another portrait by Konrad Seweryn titled Portrait of a Crying Boy, make up an original diptych, which was awarded at an exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society in London in 1879. He was the first Polish photographer to receive a medal at an RPS exhibition. The photographs are among his most famous works. They are owned by the Public Library of the Capital City of Warsaw and were reproduced in Danuta Jackiewicz’s book Konrad Brandel 1838-1920 (History Meeting House, National Museum in Warsaw, 2015).