In the 17th century, the Ter Borch family ardently devoted themselves to drawing and painting. Father Gerard ter Borch the Elder (1584-1662) encouraged the artistic talents of all his children. Gerard, Anna, Gesina, Harmen and Moses all drew and painted. One of them, Gerard ter Borch the Younger (1617-1681), made a name for himself as a professional artist. Gesina (1631-1690) created a number of artist’s books, in which she also preserved the work of her relatives. What was life like in the studio of this 17th-century Zwolle family? How did they inspire each other? Learning with and from each other was the key to their success.
The siblings, encouraged by their father, drew and painted each other, inspired each other and copied each other’s work. A large archive kept by Gesina and her descendants, and acquired by the Rijksmuseum in 1886, allows us to faithfully reconstruct the work of this most talented of Dutch artistic families. In At Home with Ter Borch Marjorie E. Wieseman, Ilona van Tuinen, Michael Klomp and Geertje Havers describe the life of this Zwolle family from various perspectives. Chourouk Hriech describes her personal connection with the work of the Ter Borchs, and how it inspires her today, like a bridge across the centuries
