Artwork
Portrait of a Middle-Aged Man
Portrait of a Middle-Aged Man is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Gerard ter Borch. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
His composed posture and direct gaze suggest contemplation and social standing, reflecting the status of the Dutch merchant class during the mid-17th century.
The painting portrays a dignified middle-aged man seated beside a table and chair, rendered in oil paint around 1660. His composed posture and direct gaze suggest contemplation and social standing, reflecting the status of the Dutch merchant class during the mid-17th century. The work was owned by Barthold Suermondt before entering the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains on display.
The subject’s identity is not definitively recorded, but the inclusion of modest household items like a table and chair may symbolize domestic stability and prosperity rather than overt narrative or allegory.
Technique & Style
Gerard ter Borch painted this portrait in 1660 using oil paint. The work belongs to the portrait genre and depicts a man accompanied by a table and chair, suggesting a formal interior setting typical of the artist's mature style. Ter Borch's technique is characterized by refined, smooth brushwork and a restrained palette, hallmarks of his sophisticated approach to Dutch Golden Age portraiture.
The painting's composition emphasizes psychological presence through controlled handling of paint and careful attention to the textures of fabrics and furnishings.
History & Provenance
Portrait of a Middle-Aged Man was painted by Gerard ter Borch in 1660, executed in oil paint. The work was once owned by Barthold Suermondt, the nineteenth-century collector whose holdings formed the nucleus of a major museum collection. It is now held in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it is classified as a portrait painting.
The painting's documented ownership chain thus extends from ter Borch's studio in 1660, through Suermondt's private collection, to its present institutional home in Berlin. No commission details are recorded in the available sources.
Overview
Gerard ter Borch painted 'Portrait of a Middle-Aged Man' in 1660 using oil on canvas. The work is a representative example of Dutch Golden Age portraiture.
Legacy
Ter Borch's influence can be seen in the work of contemporaries such as Johannes Vermeer, who also explored intimate domestic settings and subtle psychological insight in their paintings.
Own this work as a print
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.
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