Art fans spot 'time traveller' in 17th Century painting as boy seen 'wearing Nike trainers'

Art fans are convinced they have spotted a young time traveller in a 17th Century painting. Dutch Master Ferdinand Bol's 'Portrait of a Boy' has garnered a huge amount of online interest thanks to some eagle-eyed visitors to the National Gallery in London.

The painting depicts a boy of eight wearing a black cape and a white, ruffled shirt. He is holding a goblet, which is resting on a table with a red cloth, and is wearing black shoes.

And it is his footwear that attracted the attention of Fiona Foskett, 58, who noticed that the shoes have a white mark that closely resembles a Nike tick, the Daily Star reports.

Fiona, from the Isle of Wight, had visited the gallery with her 24-year-old daughter, Holly, last May. She told The Sun: "I said to my daughter, 'Hold on, is he wearing a pair of Nike trainers?'

"Looking at the age, he must have got his hands on the first pair of Nike trainers ever made. Or is he actually a time traveller?"

It is thought that the boy in the artwork could be Frederick Sluysken, the second cousin of the artist's wife. But, given that Nike wasn't formed for around 300 years after the painting, it seems unlikely that the white mark is actually the sports brand's iconic swoosh logo.

Following the bizarre sighting, a spokesperson from the National Gallery said: "We are delighted that this picture has been such a hit with our visitors.

"It resonated with followers when we put out a Tweet asking people to see if they could spot a more 'modern' detail by taking a closer look at the shoes of the eight-year-old boy in the portrait."

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