1653
oil
panel
From the collection of Mauritshuis
The messenger is a 1653 oil by Gerard ter Borch, held at Mauritshuis.
This painting shows a man in a blue and gold coat, standing and facing a couple sitting on the floor. The man on the floor wears a brown hat and red boots, while the woman beside him is dressed in a pink skirt and white headscarf. They seem to be in a dimly lit room with a dark background. The man in blue appears to be delivering a message, as indicated by the paper in his hand. This scene is set in a quiet, intimate space, with the focus on the interaction between the three figures. For more on the use of chiaroscuro to create depth and contrast in paintings like this, explore the technique of chiaroscuro.
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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