Per the Rijksmuseum: A young boy holds up a mirror for the woman in the satin gown, who gazes upward at a far more plainly dressed woman. In the seventeenth century, mirrors symbolized vanity and the transience of life. This painting serves as a cautionary reminder: youth and beauty are fleeting. Ter Borch’s sister, Gesina, also an artist, probably modelled for both women, and his brother Moses for the boy.
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After carefully preparing this admittedly rather simple post, I wondered if maybe I hadn't previously shared the painting at some point, perhaps included in a larger group. So I searched older posts tagged with "Gerard ter Borch" and... I made a stand-alone post about this very painting, creating almost exactly the same cropped details - even the order they're displayed is almost identical - back in May of 2018. I feel very silly, but I'm posting it anyway; it's a wonderful painting and is more than deserving of a rerun/remake!
I love Dutch artists from the 17th century, especially Gerard ter Borch and his colleagues, so repetition is not a problem at all.
ReplyDeleteBut I wrote an interesting post that took me two LONG days, then found that I had written an almost identical post many years ago. The only problem was that I lost 2 days of my life that can never be reclaimed.
Don't worry. I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't mind. Marc
ReplyDeleteA great painting is always worth re-examination. I too have worked all day on an article only to find I had already wrote a biography on the artist four years ago.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing, isn't it! : )
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