Artist of the week
Satin, a letter and a lute
Gerard ter Borch
Gerard ter Borch, the Dutch painter of satin, from about 1650 to the late 1660s. A young woman in pink satin fastens her bodice as a maid brings a silver jug, a woman in blue plays a long-necked lute for a cavalier, and a girl leans over a chair to read a letter as it is written. Then portraits in black: Burgomaster Jan van Duren, his hat on a red table, Margaretha van Haexbergen at a red armchair, and a father showing an open watch to a child in a feathered hat.
As a puzzle
Start with whatever catches the light: the faces, the white collars and cuffs, the pink and white satin, the little spaniel on its stool, the red velvet chairs and tablecloths, the carpet over the lute player’s table. The grounds are dark and smooth, brown, olive or deep blue, and they are the slow part, like the black clothes. Curiosity, the lute player and the young woman at her toilet take a moderate count. The portraits are mostly black on brown, so keep them low.
A good size here: 40–150 pieces.
Also filed under Dutch Golden Age
Subjects here: PortraitsEveryday LifeInteriorsChildrenMusic and Dance
7 pictures, pick one to build
Margaretha van Haexbergen (1614–1676) ca. 1666–67 
Burgomaster Jan van Duren (1613–1687) ca. 1666–67 
Curiosity ca. 1660–62 
A Young Woman at Her Toilet with a Maid ca. 1650–51 
A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier ca. 1658 
Portrait of a Seated Man late 1650s or early 1660s 
The Van Moerkerken Family ca. 1653–54