Gerard ter Borch (; December 1617 – 8 December 1681), also known as Gerard Terburg (), was a

Dutch Golden Age painter Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republi ...

mainly of genre subjects. He influenced his fellow Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu,

Gerrit Dou Gerrit Dou (; 7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for h ...

, Eglon van der Neer and

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

. According to Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., Ter Borch "established a new framework for subject matter, taking people into the sanctum of the home", showing the figures' uncertainties and expertly hinting at their inner lives. His influence as a painter, however, was later surpassed by Vermeer.

Biography

Gerard ter Borch was born in December 1617 in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

in the province of

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. He received an excellent education from his father Gerard ter Borch the Elder, also an artist, and developed his talent very early. The inscription on a study of a head proves that ter Borch was at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 1632, where he studied possibly under Willem Cornelisz Duyster or Pieter Codde. Duyster's influence can be traced in a picture bearing the date 1638, in the Ionides Bequest (

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London). In 1634 he studied under Pieter de Molijn in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

. A record of this Haarlem period is the ''Consultation'' (1635) at the

Gemäldegalerie, Berlin The (, Painting Gallery) is an art museum in Berlin, Germany, and the museum where the main selection of paintings belonging to the Berlin State Museums (''Staatliche Museen zu Berlin'') is displayed. It was first opened in 1830, and the cur ...

. In 1635, he was in London, and subsequently he travelled in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. His sister Gesina also became a painter. It is certain that he was in Rome in 1641, when he painted the small portraits on copper of ''Jan Six'', ''A Young Lady'' (Six Collection, Amsterdam) and the portrait of a Gentlemen (DMK Collection Nuermberg). In 1648 he was at

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

during the meeting of the congress which ratified the treaty of peace between the Spaniards and the Dutch, and executed his celebrated little picture, painted upon copper, of the assembled plenipotentiaries—a work which, along with a portrait of a ''Man Standing'' ("Portrait of a Young Man"), represents the master in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

in London. The picture was bought by the marquess of Hertford at the Demidoff sale for £7280, and presented to the National Gallery by Sir Richard Wallace, at the suggestion of his secretary, Sir John Murray Scott. Gerard_ter_Borch

At this time ter Borch was invited to visit

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, where he received employment and the honour of knighthood from Philip IV, but, in consequence of an intrigue, it is said, he was obliged to return to the Netherlands. One of his great patrons was Amsterdam burgomaster and statesman Andries de Graeff. He seems to have resided for a time in Haarlem; but he finally settled in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

, where he became a member of the town council, as which he appears in the portrait now in the gallery of the Hague. He died at Deventer in 1681.

Works

Ter Borch is a significant painter of genre subjects. He is known for his rendering of texture in draperies, for example in ''The Letter'' and in '' The Gallant Conversation'', engraved by Johann Georg Wille. Ter Borch's works are comparatively rare; about eighty have been catalogued. Six of these are at the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

, six at the

, five at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, four at the

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister The (, ''Old Masters Gallery'') in Dresden, Germany, displays around 750 paintings from the 15th to the 18th centuries. It includes major Italian Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance works as well as Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch and F ...

, three at the Getty Center, and two at the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

. A pair of portraits were located at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., highlighted in 2010 by Blake Gopnik. The artist's painting ''The Suitor's Visit'', c. 1658, oil on canvas, 80 x 75 cm (31½ × 29 9/16 in.) in the Andrew W. Mellon Collection, was used on the cover of Marilyn Stokstad's second edition of ''Art History''.

Selected works

Gerard ter Borch - Man on Horseback.jpg, '' Man on Horseback'' (1634) EinzugdesGesandten AdriaenPauw.jpg, ''Adrian Pauw's arrival in Münster'' (1646) Gerard ter Borch (II) "De Koestal".jpg, ''A Maid Milking a Cow in a Barn'' ( 1652–54) File:Gerard ter Borch - The Messenger, known as 'The Unwelcome News' - 176 - Mauritshuis.jpg, The ''Messenger'' (The Unwelcome News) (1653),

Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (, ; ) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van ...

File:Gerard ter Borch (II) 019.jpg, '' The Gallant Conversation'' (The Paternal Admonition) () Gerard ter Borch d. J. 004.jpg, ''The concert'' (1655) Gerard ter Borch d. J. 001.jpg, ''Woman writing a letter'' ( 1655) Gerard ter Borch (II) - The Letter - WGA22120.jpg, ''The letter'' ( 1655) Målning. Familjebild. Gerard ter Borch - Hallwylska museet - 86722.tif, ''Portrait of a Family'' (after 1656) Borch Officer.jpg, ''An officer dictating a letter'' ( 1657–58) A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier MET DP145907.jpg, '' A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier'', circa 1658,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

File:Gerard ter Borch the Younger - The Suitor's Visit - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Suitor's Visit'' () Gerhard Terborch.jpg, ''Lady at her Toilette'' (1660) Gerard Terborch - A Lady Reading a Letter.JPG, ''A Lady Reading a Letter'' (1662) Gerard ter Borch (II) - The Glass of Lemonade - WGA22118.jpg, '' Glass of Lemonade'' ( 1664) Woman Reading a Letter 1660-1662 Gerard ter Borch II.jpg, '' The Letter'' ( 1660–1665) File:Jacob de Graeff, heer van Purmerland en Ilpendam.jpg, Portrait of Jacob de Graeff, free lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam (between 1670 and 1681) Cornelis de Graeff (1650-1678).png, ''Portrait of Cornelis HrR Ridder de Graeff'' (1673)

Claim for Nazi-looted art

In 2007, the heirs to the retail magnate Max Emden requested that the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

restitute the Gerard ter Borch painting ''Lady with a Fan'' which Emden had owned prior to the rise of the Nazis.

Notes

References

External links

Works and literature on Gerard ter Borch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borch, Gerard Ter 1617 births 1681 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch genre painters Municipal councillors in Overijssel Artists from Zwolle Sibling artists