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 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 Wille