Gerard Ter Borch - The Music Lesson [c.1668]

Gerard Ter Borch - The Music Lesson [c.1668], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

"Love will prevail as long as there is music and merrymaking," wrote Dutch poet Jacob Cats in the 1600s; this painting exemplifies Cats's slogan. As the elegantly dressed woman plays the lute, a man, who may be her instructor, keeps rhythm and time with his hand. The foot warmer in the lower left corner symbolises love, and the bed suggests an amorous relationship between the man and woman, maybe even seduction. 

Gerard ter Borch always set a mood, creating a subtle psychological interplay between the people in his intimate paintings. He delighted in meticulously describing and contrasting varied textures: the soft pile of the woman's velvet jacket, distinguished from its plump white fur trim; the shimmer of her pearl-colored satin dress; the dog's soft, wavy fur; and the variations of wood grain in the cello, furniture, and floor. He noticed even the most minute details, such as the nails in the floorboards and the brass door handle. Ter Borch created about eleven paintings of female lute players, often repeating the motifs of the woman in the satin gown and fur-trimmed jacket, the dog, the foot warmer, the four-poster bed in the background, and the partially opened door.

[Paul Getty Museum - Oil on canvas, 26.625 x 21.625 inches]

Gerard ter Borch - Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier[c.1658]

Gerard ter Borch - Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier [c.1658], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Ter Borch (Dutch, Zwolle, 1617 - Deventer, 1681) was an exceptionally gifted observer of social behavior as well as physical qualities, such as the surfaces of fine materials or the naturalistic arrangement of objects in space. In this panel of about 1658 a duet, the man seems to be singing, resonates to the heartstrings, while a watch quietly recommends temperance.

[Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - Oil on wood, 36.8 x 32.4 cm]

Gerard ter Borch - A Woman Playing a Theorbo to Two Men [c.1667-68]

Gerard ter Borch - A Woman Playing a Theorbo to Two Men [c.1667-68], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

The painting is anecdotal in character, with two men present, one singing to the accompaniment of the theorbo. The association between music and love is a frequent subject in Dutch genre painting. Here, as in many of ter Borch's pictures, the relationship between the figures is deliberately ambiguous. The viewer is invited to decide whether is is just a happy domestic scene, or possibly a scene taking place in brothel. Though influenced by the work of Metsu, the painting is more elaborate in composition and psychological resonance than comparable paintings by Metsu. Judging from the style and the fashionable clothes, the painting is probably a relatively late work, dating from the late 1660s.

[Oil on canvas, 67.6 x 57.8 cm]

Gerard ter Borch II - Gallant Conversation [c.1654]

Gerard ter Borch II - Gallant Conversation [c.1654], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

A young woman in a silver-grey dress is standing with her back to us, her head tilted slightly to one side as though cautiously looking at the man sitting on the chair. The man is trying to catch her eye; the older woman appears to want to keep out of the way: she is sipping her wine while staring into her glass. This is a strange situation; what exactly is going on?

For a long time this painting was called 'Paternal Admonition'. The man was seen as a father lecturing his daughter. However, if you look closely, this cannot be right. The man is far too young to be the girl's father. And why is the large bed so obvious? In the Gemalde Gallery in Berlin there is a later, slightly smaller version of this painting. When the picture was cleaned it became clear that the man is holding a coin between his fingers. This explains a lot: the girl is apparently a prostitute and the man is a client requiring her services. 

Even without the coin it would have been clear to viewers in Gerard ter Borch’s day that this picture is a brothel scene. Other things in the painting also refer to this. On the right, behind the man's chair wanders a somewhat grubby dog. The dog and the candle on the table on the left were often used as symbols of sensuality, particularly if a bed was also depicted. This combination of a bed, dog and candle can also be found in other 'loose women' paintings, such as 'Woman at Her Toilet' by Jan Steen.

[Oil on canvas, 71 x 73 cm]