The Gallant Conversation
by Gerard ter Borch, 1654
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1654
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 71 cm × 73 cm
Cite or Embed This Work
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Dutch painter Gerard ter Borch painted this ambiguous interior scene around 1654. For centuries it was called "The Paternal Admonition," believed to show a father scolding his daughter. Modern scholars interpret it differently: a gentleman propositions a woman in what may be a brothel. The man still holds his hat, having just arrived. When a smaller version in Berlin was cleaned, restorers discovered he was holding a coin between his fingers.
Ter Borch's real subject is the shimmering white satin dress that dominates the composition. Contemporaries called his interiors "satijntjes" for his unmatched ability to render fabric. The painting proved immediately popular. Ter Borch made copies himself, and at least 24 versions by other artists exist. Goethe immortalized it in his novel Elective Affinities. The work hangs at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
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The Concert: Singer and Theorbo Player
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Woman Drinking Wine
Gerard ter Borch
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Woman Writing A Letter
Gerard ter Borch, 1665
Mauritshuis, The Hague
T
The Swearing of the Oath of Ratification of the Treaty of Munster
Gerard ter Borch
National Gallery, London
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About The Gallant Conversation
Modern art historians believe it depicts a gentleman propositioning a woman in a brothel, not a father admonishing his daughter as once thought. A cleaned Berlin version revealed a coin in the man's hand.
The painting hangs at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. A smaller version is at the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. Both were painted by ter Borch himself.
Ter Borch was famous for painting fabric textures, especially satin. His interiors were called 'satijntjes' (satin pieces) for his unmatched ability to capture shimmering cloth.
The painting was immediately successful. Ter Borch made multiple copies, and at least 24 versions by other artists survive. Goethe featured it in his novel Elective Affinities.
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