Early Paintings

Born in Zwolle, the Netherlands, Gerard ter Borch’s first art instruction was with his father, who provided him with a solid training in drawing. Even at the age of eight, Gerard produced penetrating studies from life. Recording the world he saw around him, he developed an acute appreciation for realistic detail—a talent that would characterize his art throughout his career.

In 1633, Ter Borch moved to Haarlem. There, he studied with the landscape artist, Pieter Molijn. Ter Borch was also introduced to Haarlem’s tradition of “genre painting.” The term genre refers to subjects that focus on scenes of everyday life, from elegant festivities to raucous peasant gatherings.

In 1632 and during the first half of the 1640s, Ter Borch frequently worked in Amsterdam. There he was exposed to artists who executed small-scale paintings on oak panels that attained a refined degree of finish. Ter Borch would have admired Pieter Codde’s exquisite rendering of fashionable attire, Thomas de Keyser’s dapper full-length portraits, and Willem Duyster’s enigmatic representations of soldiers in pursuit of pleasure or quietude in formal interiors.


Image Detail: The Swearing of the Oath of Ratification of the Treaty of Münster, 15 May 1648, 1648; Oil on copper. The National Gallery. Photo: © National Gallery, London.