Heer die een bal gooit en een dame - Gesina ter Borch

A delicate seventeenth-century illustration by Gesina ter Borch, featuring a gentleman throwing a ball to a lady, accompanied by elegant Dutch calligraphy.

This work originates from the personal album of Gesina ter Borch, a Dutch artist active during the seventeenth century. The page features a combination of calligraphic poetry and a small, hand-coloured illustration. The scene depicts a gentleman in period attire, captured in the motion of throwing a ball, while a lady stands to the left, observing the action. The figures are rendered with a delicate touch, typical of the amateur yet highly skilled artistic output found in the private albums of the Dutch elite during this period.

The text accompanying the figures is written in a refined, flowing hand, characteristic of the period's penmanship. It serves as a narrative component to the visual scene, linking the act of play to the themes of courtship and social interaction often explored in Dutch genre art. The composition is sparse, placing the figures against a plain background to focus attention on their interaction and the specific gesture of the ball toss. The palette is restrained, relying on soft washes of colour to define the clothing and the ground, while the ink lines provide the necessary structure for the figures and the surrounding verses.

Gesina ter Borch was a member of a prominent artistic family in Zwolle. Her work provides a unique window into the domestic and social life of the Dutch middle class. Unlike the large-scale oil paintings produced by her brother, Gerard ter Borch, her drawings and album pages offer a more intimate, personal perspective on the culture of the time. This print captures the charm of her illustrative style, where literature and visual art merge to create a cohesive narrative experience. It is a fine example of the intersection between private hobby and artistic documentation in the seventeenth-century Netherlands.