By Katie Neal

Gerard Ter Borch was born in Zwolle in 1617, and he spent his early years in Zwolle training alongside his father Gerard Ter Borch the Elder. He maintained a relationship with his father throughout his career. Ter Borch entered into the workshop of Pieter Molijn in 1633, and in 1635 he entered the painter’s guild in Haarlem. From then on he traveled until he settled with his wife in Deventer. In London he about aristocratic painting, and we know he was there because of letters exchanged from to his dad. He traveled to Spain and some say he did by the way of Italy but because of his body of work and style it is unlikely that he ever traveled to Italy. Scholars disagree on the fact of whether or not he went to Italy. In 1654, he married and settled in Deventer, a city just south of Zwolle. Here, he “had his first pupil” Casper N. In Deventer, he established himself as the lead portraits in the city. He spent some time in Amsterdam after his wife died but returned to Deventer. He died on December 8, 1681 and was buried alongside his father in Zwolle.

Gerard ter borch was interested in genre paintings and portraiture, and he was a master at depicting a wide variety of fabrics. Through his travels and as he aged, his style developed and matured. His style of portraiture was with the subject sitting straightforward; full length or three quarter length, formal figures, and he set out to “provide the likeness of the sitter.” Even though the history of this painting is particularly unknown, it matches his style in the years he spent in Deventer when he was first married. There, he painted many portraits of Dutch noblemen, which is what this small treasure seems to be.

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