Artwork
The Apple Peeler
The Apple Peeler 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 Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features a woman and a child as the primary figures, with the narrative centered on the fruit and its peel.
Gerard ter Borch's 1660 painting depicts a domestic genre scene focused on the act of peeling an apple. The composition features a woman and a child as the primary figures, with the narrative centered on the fruit and its peel. While the work is classified as genre art illustrating everyday life, the provided sources do not elaborate on specific iconographic traditions or symbolic meanings associated with the apple or the figures within this particular composition.
Technique & Style
Created in 1660, The Apple Peeler is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 36.3 cm in height and 30.7 cm in width. As a genre scene, it depicts a woman and child engaged in the act of peeling an apple, with the resulting apple peel serving as a central visual element. The composition reflects the artist's focus on intimate domestic moments typical of Dutch Golden Age genre art.
History & Provenance
The work titled The Apple Peeler was created by Gerard ter Borch in 1660 as an oil painting. It entered the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, where it remains on display. The painting was featured in the exhibition Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting. Inspiration and Rivalry.
The work is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It entered the museum's inventory as part of the Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting. Inspiration and Rivalry exhibition. The painting measures 36.3 cm in height and 30.7 cm in width.
Context
The Apple Peeler by Gerard ter Borch, painted in 1660, is a genre scene depicting a woman and child engaged in the act of peeling an apple. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and has been featured in exhibitions such as Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry. Scholarship emphasizes its technical mastery and nuanced portrayal of domestic intimacy within Dutch Golden Age genre painting.
Overview
Created in 1660, The Apple Peeler is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age artist Gerard ter Borch. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It exemplifies ter Borch’s interest in quiet, everyday scenes rendered with meticulous observation of light, texture, and domestic detail.
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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.
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