Dutch Baroque Artist Gerard ter Borch
17th Century Painter Is Renowned for His Genre Scenes and Fabric
A woman pauses near her dressing table as if she has just remembered something. A maid is partially visible in the background, fastening the bodice of the lady’s dress. And the dress itself is a wonder to behold: The skirt falls in lush layers of pearlescent satin, rendered so masterfully it appears to be real. In his depiction of scenes such as these, and in his marvelous technique for painting textured fabrics, especially satin, Gerard ter Borch has few, if any, equals.
Gerard ter Borch's Early Life and Training
Gerard ter Borch (or Terburg) the Younger was born in Zwolle in 1617, the son of well-regarded artist Gerard ter Borch the Elder, whose training in nearby Haarlem and Utrecht, as well as Italy, served him in good stead, both as an artist and as a teacher for his young son. Ter Borch the Younger began training at an early age; drawings and sketchbooks dated from his childhood show that his father gave him progressively more difficult exercises, from copying prints of masters’ works to drawing from sculpture and sketching from nature. As Zwolle was not an ideal place for an artist to learn from established masters, ter Borch went to Amsterdam and then to Haarlem in the early 1630s, probably to study with Pieter Codde or Willem Duyser, two Dutch artists who would have a great influence on ter Borch’s emerging talents. Later he studied with Pieter Molijn, a painter and draftsman, and at the end of his training he was named a master in the Saint Luke’s Guild of Haarlem.
Ter Borch's Career and Travel
After attaining master status, ter Borch went to London to work in the studio of his step-uncle, an engraver who had worked with Anthony van Dyck. Although this arrangement seemed satisfactory, ter Borch was nonetheless back in Zwolle by April 1636. During his early years as an artist, ter Borch painted portraits and typical Dutch genre scenes known as “merry companies,” but after returning from London he seemed to have taken a greater interest in painting members of the aristocracy. In 1637 his new interest was put to use when he went to Spain and was commissioned to paint King Philip IV, who was a great admirer of his work. Because of this, as well as his paintings of members of both the Dutch and Spanish delegations to Münster, ter Borch received a medal in appreciation, and may also have been knighted.
Marriage and ter Borch's Pupils
In 1654, ter Borch married Geertruyt Matthys, a member of the regent class in Deventer. His wife’s connections helped secure him commissions, and even though she died in the late 1660s, ter Borch remained in great demand in her hometown. He took on pupils like Caspar Netscher, and later painted a portrait of Willem III, Prince of Orange. Additionally, he was asked to paint a self portrait to hang in Cosimo III de’ Medici’s gallery of artists in Florence.
Ter Borch's Style and Technique
Gerard ter Borch’s later works — the elegant men and women writing letters or playing music in their well-appointed drawing rooms — had no precedent in Dutch art, and were an unmistakable influence on artists like Jan Vermeer. Ter Borch’s genre scenes portrayed actual people (his half-sister Gesina was a favorite model) with complex emotions displayed on their faces, rather than the stock characters usually appearing in this style of painting. In addition, his rendering of fabrics — particularly satin — was often termed “miraculous,” and present-day scholars believe it was achieved through a complicated technique of “subtractive” painting, with a white and gray base scumbled over with black, then wiped clean of the gray paint.
It is interesting to note that though ter Borch is most renowned today for his satin and his genre scenes, in his own day it was generally his portraits of kings and aristocrats that brought him the greatest fame, for he was by all accounts quite well known in his own time. When he died in 1681, he was buried in Zwolle near his father, under a tomb bearing a verse written by his half-sister Gesina. Today, only about 80 of ter Borch’s works survive, but their stunning beauty is a testament to the prodigious talent of this “miraculous” painter.
Additional Source:
Wheelock Jr., Arthur K. et al (2004). Gerard ter Borch. Publishing Office of the National Gallery of Art. ISBN 0-300-10639-4.
Self Portrait (1668)
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Lady in Her Room (1660)
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