The Music Lesson - Gerard ter Borch the Younger

Gift of Charles T. Yerkes

"The Music Lesson" by Gerard ter Borch the Younger (c. 1670) Oil on canvas.

Commentary

"The Music Lesson" by Gerard ter Borch the Younger (c. 1670) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrative alone. Them es to notice include 17th Century, painting. This piece is held in the source collection's Painting and Sculpture of Europe collection. Gerard ter Borch the Younger is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Gerard ter Borch the Younger (Dutch, 1617-1681). The work is cataloged within a Netherlands cultural context. It is associated with the 17th Century period. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as painting, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Oil on canvas) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (63.6 × 50.4 cm (25 × 19 7/8 in.); Framed: 84.8 × 70.8 × 6.4 cm (33 3/8 × 27 7/8 × 2 1/2 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include 17th Century, painting. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/512

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data