About this artwork
A young woman with her back to us holds a song book. The relationship between her and the seated figures may be intentionally ambiguous. The man’s keen interest in the girl’s singing suggests his role might that of suitor rather than tutor. The older woman enjoying a drink may have been instrumental in arranging the ‘lesson’. The restrained composition complements the scene’s subtle intrigue and also emphasises the shimmering satins and silks of the characters’ clothes. It is one of at least three versions of the same theme.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Gerard ter Borch (1617 - 1681) Dutch
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title:A Singing Practice
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date created:About 1655
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:73.80 x 79.60 cm; Framed: 96.60 x 102.30 x 11.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Bridgewater Collection Loan
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accession number:NGL 074.46
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gallery:
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subject:
Gerard ter Borch
Gerard ter Borch
Ter Borch specialised in rendering scenes from every day life, a type that flourished in seventeenth-century Holland. He concentrated on quiet middle class interiors with one, two or three finely dressed figures. He also painted small-scale individual and group portraits. Ter Borch worked in...