Vrouw voor een spiegel, by Gerard ter Borch, 1652 (Oops!)

 

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!

Woman at a Mirror, by Gerard ter Borch, circa 1652

In the collection of the Rijksmuseum, this beautiful, stunningly restrained and elegant painting was new to me.

People in rooms I

Louis-Philippe, duc de Valois, au berceau, by Nicolas Bernard Lépicié, 1774.

The duc de Chartres (later the duc d'Orléans, later still known as Philippe Égalité) gazes at his first-born son, one day to be King Louis-Philippe.

Lépicié has also included a portrait of the Orléans' young black servant, Scipion.

Die Sentimentale, by Johann Peter Hasenclever, circa 1846-47.

The family of Arent Anthoni Roukens, by Willem Joseph Laquy, 1786.

 The battle-painter, Jørgen Sonne, in his studio, by Ditlev Blunck, circa 1826.

The baptism of Princess Beatrice in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, 16 June 1857, by Egron Sellif Lundgren, 1857.

Princess Beatrice was the youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, portrayed here surrounded by their other children.

The child's godparents were her maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Kent; her eldest sister; and the latter's fiancé, Prince Friedrich of Prussia.

Marriage of Léopold I, King of the Belgians, and Louise d’Orléans, Château de Compiègne, 9 August 1832, by Joseph-Désiré Court, circa 1832.

Princess Louise was the eldest daughter of Louis-Philippe and Queen Marie Amélie.

Two ladies and an officer seated at tea, unknown artist, circa 1715.

The Art Gallery of Jan Gildemeester, by Adriaan de Lelie, circa 1794-95.

Among the many paintings covering the walls, one of the most noticeable is Gerard ter Borch's Woman Reading a Letter.

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Bonus: Lépicié's sketch of the infant duc de Valois, a study for the painting at the beginning of this post.

Ladies of the Rijksmuseum - a selection of paintings

Girl with an Oil Lamp at a Window, by Gerrit Dou, circa 1645-75.

Marie Fargues, wife of the artist, in Turkish costume, by Jean-Étienne Liotard, circa 1756-58.

The Sick Woman, by Jan Havickszoon Steen, circa 1663-66.

Portrait of an Old Lady, Possibly Elisabeth Bas, attributed to Ferdinand Bol, circa 1640-45.

Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland, by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, circa 1805-09.

Seated Girl in Peasant Costume (the artist's sister Gesina), by Gerard ter Borch, circa 1650-60.

Marie de' Medici, consort of Henri IV, King of France, by Frans Pourbus the Younger (workshop of), circa 1590-1620.

Old Woman Saying Grace, also known as The Prayer without End, by Nicolaes Maes, circa 1656.

Johanna Henriette Engelen, second wife of Daniel Francis Schas, by Alexandre-Jean Dubois-Drahonet, 1826.

An Old Woman Reading, probably the Prophetess Hannah, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1631.

Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, dauphine of France, by Jean-Étienne Liotard, 1749.

Girl Peeling an Apple, by Cornelis Bisschop, 1667.

Alida Christina Assink, by Jan Adam Kruseman, 1833.

The Anemic Lady, by Samuel van Hoogstraten, circa 1660-78.