At Home with Ter Borch – Artist Family in Zwolle

Gerard ter Borch de Jonge, Woman Writing a Letter, ca. 1655, Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Four hundred years ago, Zwolle was home to one of the most important artist families of the seventeenth century, with world-famous descendants such as Gerard ter Borch and Gesina ter Borch. Many drawings from their childhood have been carefully preserved by the family and today provide a unique glimpse into city life of the time. The Ter Borch family was intimately connected to Zwolle, and this exhibition, a collaboration with Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, celebrates their legacy with the whole town. It features over 70 works on paper and 35 paintings, from Dutch, European and American museums and private collections.

Learning from and with each other
On 25 September 1625, seven-year-old Gerard ter Borch the Younger (1617-1681) made a small drawing of a horse and rider. With a few accurate lines, this drawing launched a highly successful career as a professional artist. Gerard would become known for his way of painting fabrics, but also for the expressions of his characters. In At Home with Ter Borch, we get to know not only Gerard but also his equally talented siblings. At least three of his half-sisters and brothers - Gesina (1631-1690), Harmen (1638-1677) and Moses (1645-1667) and Anna - were also gifted artists. Encouraged by their father Gerard ter Borch the Elder, an artist himself, they were given every opportunity to develop their creativity and learn from each other. Thus, members of the Ter Borch family were constantly sketching, scribbling, practising, copying, competing, inventing and experimenting.

A large selection of drawings, albums and paintings by the Ter Borch family has been preserved, thanks in part to careful archiving by Gerard the Elder and Gesina. Gerard the Elder kept hundreds of drawings by his children and added notes to track their artistic development.