Who painted Portrait of a Seated Man?

Portrait of a Seated Man was painted by Gerard ter Borch in 1660-01-01.

Where can I see Portrait of a Seated Man?

Portrait of a Seated Man is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is Portrait of a Seated Man?

Portrait of a Seated Man is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Portrait of a Seated Man?

Museum-quality prints of Portrait of a Seated Man are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Portrait of a Seated Man

Gerard ter Borch , 1660

Portrait of a Seated 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 Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

Its provenance, including ownership by Henry Gurdon Marquand, further underscores its role as a formal portrait within a distinguished collection.

The painting shows a seated male sitter rendered in oil on panel (35.9 × 30.5 cm) around 1660 by Gerard ter Borch. As a portrait, it functions to record the sitter's appearance and, by convention, to suggest his social standing or identity. The work is catalogued as a portrait in both the artist's record and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection data, indicating that its primary meaning lies in representing an individual gentleman of the period rather than containing explicit symbolic attributes.

Its provenance, including ownership by Henry Gurdon Marquand, further underscores its role as a formal portrait within a distinguished collection.

Technique & Style

The work is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel, a support characteristic of Gerard ter Borch the Younger's mature portrait practice. The Metropolitan Museum of Art records the panel's dimensions as 35.9 cm in height by 30.5 cm in width, yielding a modestly scaled, intimate format suited to private viewing. Ter Borch's handling of the oil medium is associated with a refined, polished surface and meticulous attention to fabric textures, tonal gradations, and the subtle modeling of flesh, qualities that align with his broader stylistic reputation in mid-seventeenth-century Dutch portraiture.

The portrait genre and small cabinet-picture scale are consistent with the careful, controlled brushwork for which the artist is noted.

History & Provenance

Portrait of a Seated Man is an oil painting by Gerard ter Borch dated to 1660. The work entered the collection of Henry Gurdon Marquand, the American collector and Metropolitan Museum of Art trustee, before being accessioned into the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently held. The sources do not document an earlier ownership chain, a commissioning party, or circumstances of its creation beyond the artist and date of inception.

The work is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is catalogued as a painting by Gerard ter Borch. Its dimensions are recorded as 35.9 cm in height and 30.5 cm in width. The painting entered the museum's collection through Henry Gurdon Marquand, who later donated it to the institution.

Overview

Gerard ter Borch, a prominent painter of the Dutch Golden Age, completed Portrait of a Seated Man in 1660. This oil painting captures an individual in a formal pose, reflecting the era's focus on portraiture. The work is now part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a significant example of 17th-century Dutch artistry.

Context

Created during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of remarkable cultural and artistic prosperity in the Netherlands, this portrait exemplifies the era's demand for depictions of individuals. Gerard ter Borch was a notable figure within this artistic flourishing, often recognized for his detailed genre scenes. While known for domestic narratives, his portraiture also captures the quiet dignity and psychological depth he sought in his subjects.

Portrait of a Man, Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen

Own this work as a print

Artist & collection

Artist

Gerard ter Borch

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.