Artwork
Music Lesson
Music Lesson is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Gerard ter Borch. It dates from 1675 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Gerard ter Borch's 1675 painting Music Lesson is a genre scene depicting an intimate domestic interaction between a man and a woman.
Gerard ter Borch's 1675 painting Music Lesson is a genre scene depicting an intimate domestic interaction between a man and a woman. The composition centers on the figures engaged with specific objects: the woman is shown alongside sheet music, while the man holds a theorbo, a large lute-like string instrument. This arrangement of figures and musical equipment illustrates the social practice of music-making within a private setting, a common theme in Dutch genre art of the period.
The work draws upon the artist's earlier composition, The Duet, further emphasizing the focus on musical instruction and shared performance as the core subject matter.
Technique & Style
Music Lesson is an oil painting on canvas, a medium and support consistent with Gerard ter Borch's mature practice. The work is classified as a genre scene, depicting a quiet exchange between a woman and a man with sheet music and a theorbo, the very objects that anchor its intimate domestic character.
The composition is handled with the refined surface finish and carefully controlled tonal range for which ter Borch is known, with attention concentrated on the textures of fabric, the polished body of the theorbo, and the crisp notation on the sheet music. Measuring 86.4 by 70.2 centimeters, the canvas is upright in orientation, suited to the close, interior exchange between the two figures. The painting is dated 1675 and takes as its point of departure an earlier composition, The Duet, indicating a deliberate restatement and refinement of a previously developed subject.
History & Provenance
The painting now known as Music Lesson by Gerard ter Borch was completed in 1675, as indicated by the date recorded in both the artwork’s internal record and its Wikidata entry.
The work entered the Hermitage Museum under the ownership of Catherine II of Russia, whose collection it formed part of by the late 18th century. It was later acquired by Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, a French statesman and collector. Subsequent ownership passed to Louis François, Prince of Conti, before the painting entered the collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, where it is jointly held with the Hermitage Museum.
Gerard ter Borch's painting Music Lesson, dated 1675, is currently held in two distinct collections: the Toledo Museum of Art and the Hermitage Museum. Historical records indicate the work was once owned by Catherine II of Russia, as well as Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, and Louis François, Prince of Conti. The painting is executed in oil on canvas and depicts a woman, a man, sheet music, and a theorbo. No specific accession numbers or exhibition histories are provided in the available sources.
Context
Gerard ter Borch's Music Lesson, dated 1675, is a genre scene executed in oil on canvas that depicts a woman, a man, and a theorbo alongside sheet music. The work demonstrates the artist's engagement with the domestic interior, a hallmark of his broader oeuvre, and is noted to be based on an earlier composition titled The Duet. Historically, the painting entered the collections of prominent European figures, including Louis François, Prince of Conti, Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, and Catherine II of Russia, before reaching its current locations.
Today, the painting is held in major institutions such as the Toledo Museum of Art and the Hermitage Museum, securing its status within the canon of 17th-century Dutch art.
Overview
Gerard ter Borch’s Music Lesson (1675) presents an intimate interior scene in which a gentleman, attired in a formal coat and large ruff, plays a theorbo while a lady, dressed in a modest gown with a white collar, holds a sheet of music. The pair are seated at a low table that supports a music stand, set against a dimly lit backdrop punctuated by a few framed pictures.
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.
