Children Playing with a Goat is an 18th-century grisaille painting in the style of Jacob de Wit, known as a "witje".

The painter Jacob de Wit excelled at this "painting of putti in a bas-relief" style of grisaille, and though no original autograph version of this specific scene is known, the art historian Hessel Miedema discovered two "grauwtjes" by De Wit after reliefs by Duquesnoy in the estate sale of Lambert ten Kate.

[2] According to Walter Liedtke, a comparison of this painting with autograph "witjes", however, shows that it is not as masterful as an actual Jacob de Wit.

This painting came into the collection via the John Pierpont Morgan bequest, and the Dou was bequeathed by Benjamin Altman.

[3] Known versions by Dou: The popularity of "witjes" as a decorative element, but also as a collector's item, caused De Wit to have many followers, including Piat Sauvage, who also created a copy of the same Children Playing with a Goat theme.