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Gesina ter Borch (1631-1690) was a Dutch watercolourist and draughtswoman whose work survives primarily in the form of three albums of watercolours and calligraphy, now held at the Rijksmuseum. Despite the fact that her oeuvre is securely attributed and thoroughly catalogued, Ter Borch has surprisingly never been the subject of a dedicated monograph, until now. For the first time, this book highlights Ter Borch’s watercolours and calligraphy in their own right, as well as her work as an art teacher, an archivist, and an artist’s model, and questions a historiography of women’s art that frequently values oil painting over other media, and work for the market over 'amateur' production.
Adam Eaker revisits Gesina ter Borch’s role in the genesis of Dutch 'high-life' genre painting and its construction of gender and social class, comparing her art with that of her brother Gerard, and in so doing allows for a more nuanced understanding of the ideologies and achievements of Dutch genre painting.
Adam Eaker is Associate Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. His recent publications include Van Dyck and the Making of English Portraiture (2022).
Preface; Author’s Note; Introduction; 1 The Family Ter Borch; 2 Learning to Write; 3 Modern Pictures; 4 Art and Love; 5 The Triumph of Painting; 6 A Dance with Death; Epilogue