Though there's no reason to think Zoffany was gay (he had a complicated marital history), this painting is full of droll homoerotic jokes, from the phallic outline of the slingshot to the similar object the winsome boy is holding in his left hand.

WSJ: Review: The Power of Observation | 'Johan Zoffany: Society Observed' at the Royal Academy | 'Turner Inspired' at the National Gallery in London