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The young beggar boy here with his chubby cheeks, his strong neck and his child-like stature is not a pathos-laden appeal to the spectator, nor one that calls for sympathy. There is nothing servile in his bearing or his direct gaze and the rosary in his grubby hand is not a sign of hypocritical piety, but an object of his daily life.
Piazzetta allows the pictorial means to become bearers of expression in themselves. The background of the painting and the coat are brown as the naked earth: poverty is clearly something elementary and not just picturesque decay. The red of the waistcoat is vigorous and strong. A vibrant southern light is reflected in the white of the sleeve, freshness and sunshine in the boy's brown complexion. There is no sentimentality in the harmony of technique and subject matter, but a certain candour that touches the spectator.
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