FROM THE COLLECTION : Washington's Prized Possessions

(National Gallery Of Art)

Respectable, responsible museum-goers may find this lout offensive. They're supposed to.

His breath stinks. Clearly he's been drinking. His eyes are bleary. Nyah-nyah is his message. His manners are the worst. Also he's dangerous. Note the knife.

"Youth Making a Face" at the National Gallery of Art is the size of a postcard. The Flemish artist Adriaen Brouwer painted it around 1635. He liked discomfiting the smug.

Brouwer (1605/1606-1638) was famously messy.

Once, after he'd been asked to dress well for once for a wedding, he seized a pair of pies and smeared them all over his new clothes, announcing to the guests that since his suit had been invited, rather than the man, the suit deserved to eat.

Brouwer was born in Haarlem. He also worked in Antwerp, where he spent seven months in prison for debt, and died at 32.

Some scholars believe that "Youth Making a Face" was intended to evoke the mocking of Jesus. Brouwer may also have been warning against drunkenness.

The picture is on view in Gallery 50B of the National Gallery's West Building.

-- Paul Richard

National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Call 202-737-4215 or visithttp://www.nga.gov.