Artwork
Maria van Suchtelen
Maria van Suchtelen is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Gerard ter Borch. It dates from 1666 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:reverse under the lining: No. 6 / Maria Wedeus Ehevrouw / van Gerhard van Suchtelen / Getekend met / No. 5 (No. 6 / Maria Wedeus Widow / of Gerhard van Suchtelen / Drawn with / No. 5 [pendant portrait of Gerhard van Suchtelen, 2014.136.48])
About this work
Technique & Style
The canvas support and oil medium allow for a smooth surface and fine detail, contributing to the portrait’s formal composition and restrained palette.
The work is an oil painting on canvas, created in 1666 and measuring 80.5 cm in height by 63.8 cm in width. It is classified as a portrait and executed in oil paint on a canvas support, typical of Dutch portraiture of the period. The piece belongs to the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it is displayed as part of the museum’s holdings.
The canvas support and oil medium allow for a smooth surface and fine detail, contributing to the portrait’s formal composition and restrained palette.
History & Provenance
Maria van Suchtelen is an oil-on-canvas portrait painted by Gerard ter Borch the Younger in 1666. The earliest documented owner is the British watercolorist Edward Henry Fahey, who held the work in London by 1882. It passed to William Frederick Barton Massey Mainwaring in London by 1884, and subsequently to Sir George Donaldson in London, from whose sale it was acquired in 1906 by William A. Clark of New York.
Clark bequeathed the painting in 1926 to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington. The Corcoran transferred the work to the National Gallery of Art in 2014, where it remains held in the collection.
The painting Maria van Suchtelen by Gerard ter Borch the Younger is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Its provenance traces back to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which received the work as a bequest from William A. Clark in 1926. The National Gallery of Art subsequently acquired the piece in 2014. Prior to these institutional holdings, the work was owned by Sir George Donaldson in London, who sold it in 1906, and before him by William Frederick Barton Massey Mainwaring, who purchased it in 1884.
The earliest recorded owner in the provided records is E.H. Fahey of London, who held the painting in 1882. The sources do not list specific accession numbers or a history of public exhibitions for the work.
Overview
Gerard ter Borch the Younger completed this oil on canvas portrait, titled Maria van Suchtelen, around 1666. The painting exemplifies the Baroque movement, presenting a detailed depiction of its subject. It captures Maria van Suchtelen in an interior setting, rendered with the characteristic precision and atmospheric quality for which the artist was known. This work offers insight into Dutch portraiture of the period.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents Maria van Suchtelen as a dignified figure, standing within a domestic interior. She is attired in a long black dress, accented by a white and gold underskirt and a gray collar, reflecting contemporary fashion. To her side, a table holds a plate of fruit, a teapot, and other objects, while a chair is positioned nearby. These elements subtly convey aspects of her social standing and the refined environment she inhabits.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Gerard ter Borch (Dutch:; December 1617 – 8 December 1681), also known as Gerard Terburg (Dutch: ), was a Dutch Golden Age painter mainly of genre subjects.
