Detail of A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier by Gerard ter Borch in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2010

A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier
ca. 1658


Object Details

Artist: Gerard ter Borch the Younger (Dutch, Zwolle 1617–1681 Deventer)

Date: ca. 1658

Medium: Oil on wood

Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 12 3/4 in. (36.8 x 32.4 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913

Accession Number: 14.40.617


In this intimate scene, a young woman strums a lute while playing a duet with her suitor. Songbooks, such as the one lying on the table here, were common lover’s gifts at the time. The watch lying alongside it may symbolize temperance, or perhaps the fleetingness of the affair.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435717