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Gerard ter Borch

• Baroque • Wikipedia: Gerard ter Borch
69 artworks found

The golden age in the Netherlands is a symbol of prosperity and wealth like no other. In the 17th century, maritime trade brought an unparalleled economic boom to the country. Dutch society flourished. Magnificent merchants' houses and town mansions sprang up along the lanes in the large towns. The interiors were no less elegant. Silk wallpaper spanned the walls, which were to be decorated with art. Society wanted small-format works that would blend harmoniously into the overall appearance of the house. Genre paintings that depicted everyday life and landscape paintings that captured the uniqueness of the Dutch landscape elements were deemed appropriate. An artistic period of creativity began which can hardly be surpassed in quantity. Workshops were created in which artists painted many paintings a day. Rembrandt was one of the painters who employed many additional artists to handle the full order books. The artist Gerard ter Borch lived for several years in the centre of the artistic flowering. After years of wandering and gaining experience, he settled in Amsterdam and devoted himself to portrait painting.

Even in the early centuries, Dutch society was considered exceptionally liberal and cosmopolitan. Within the social classes, however, a strict hierarchy applied. With the general prosperity, the aristocracy was forced to emphasize its position and thus revived a genre of painting that until then had slept a slumber. The nobility commissioned miniature portraits. Gerard ter Borch is considered one of the most important Dutch masters of this genre. His models were members of the patriciate or the nobility. They had their portraits made in miniature format, on the one hand to give them to family members and friends, and on the other hand to pass them on to other courts as a symbol of their rank and loyalty. The pure portrait was supported by accessories so that the social position could be clearly seen in the portrait. Ter Borch is said to have made use of a pattern book from which his clients could select clothing, hairstyle, accessories and poses. The painter merely painted the face to go with it.

During his stay in Amsterdam, ter Borch discovered genre painting for himself. The artist chose his models among his family members. His half-sister Gesine often appears as the protagonist in his genre paintings. In shining robes of satin, the figures enliven the interior scenes that ter Borch was able to depict in such a deceptively real and lively way. He conjured up the sheen of the fabric to such extraordinary perfection on the canvases that his genre paintings were nicknamed "satin pieces". One of the most famous paintings is The Gallant Conversation. What is piquant about the depiction is that it is not a family idyll, as was long assumed. Art historians are now certain that a piece of money was retouched from the admonishing father's hand and that the depiction deals with a trade in a brothel. © Meisterdrucke

Portrait of Helen van der Schalcke, c.1648

Gerard ter Borch

Portrait of Helena van der Schal...

1648 | oil on panel

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Portrait of Helen van der Schalcke, c.1648

Gerard ter Borch

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Gerard ter Borch