Gesina ter Borch’s Sole Signed Painting Emerges at an Art Fair

Who Was Gesina ter Borch?

Gesina ter Borch (1631–1690) was born in Zwolle, Netherlands, to a prominent family with a rich artistic lineage. Her father, Gerard ter Borch the Elder, a painter with training in Italy, instilled artistic passion in his daughter. However, it was her half-brother, Gerard ter Borch II, who gained widespread recognition as the family’s most celebrated artist. As a young girl, Ter Borch honed her skills under her father’s guidance and frequently served as a model for her brother.

Gesina ter Borch, primarily known for her mastery of watercolors, left behind three remarkable albums, along with a substantial collection of drawings. Until now, she was known to have completed only one oil painting in collaboration with her brother Gerard, a portrayal of her beloved younger brother Moses, who tragically passed away at the age of 19, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The painting is signed by her brother, Gerard, and is also owned by the Rijksmuseum.

The Sitter

The acquired painting is a posthumous full-length portrait of Gesina ter Borch’s younger brother Moses as a two-year-old dressed in a decorative costume with ribbons which helped the specialists to determine the possible date of execution to be after 1667, despite what seems to be an erroneous annotation on the upper left stating the date 1647 (as shown below, the annotation reads: A: i647. Ætatis. Sua. 2.).

Little Moses is depicted beating a children’s drum with his toys spread around him. On the left, there is a black horse on wheels with a small horsewhip lying on the floor. In the right lower corner we can see a flute, a violin, and a long stick with ribbons attached to it. It seems to be a simple children’s portrait, however, other small details, such as a golden coin suspended from a golden chain or an orange flag, reveal iconography referring to the House of Oranje-Nassau, a Dutch equivalent of the royal family.

The Painting

This remarkable work is now the only oil painting to be signed by Gesina ter Borch. It was discovered in a private collection in Paris by a Dutch gallerist, Dickie Zebregs of Zebregs & Röell, a gallery based in Amsterdam and Maastricht. The Rijksmuseum bought the painting for €3 million with the generous support of the Women of the Rijksmuseum Fund.

This was undoubtedly a significant purchase for the museum, as Gesina ter Borch is only among two other women to be featured in the Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of Honour.