Herder op een heuveltje, kijkend naar zijn schapen - Gesina ter Borch

A delicate watercolour and ink study by Gesina ter Borch, featuring a shepherd resting in a pastoral setting, accompanied by seventeenth-century Dutch verse.

This delicate work by Gesina ter Borch originates from her personal album, a collection of drawings, poems, and musical notations that offer a rare glimpse into the domestic and creative life of a seventeenth-century Dutch woman. The composition features a shepherd resting upon a grassy mound, his gaze directed toward a small flock of sheep grazing in the distance. The scene is rendered with a light touch, utilising watercolour washes to define the soft contours of the hill and the expansive, pale sky above.

Ter Borch, the sister of the painter Gerard ter Borch, was an accomplished amateur artist who documented the social customs and pastimes of her circle. The inclusion of handwritten Dutch verse above the illustration suggests a synthesis of visual and literary expression, common in the albums of the period. The shepherd, depicted in a relaxed posture with his crook, embodies the pastoral themes popular in contemporary literature and art. His attire, rendered in muted tones, contrasts with the verdant green of the foreground tree and the subtle blue of the horizon.

Technically, the work demonstrates a refined use of ink for the calligraphic text and fine lines for the figures. The composition is balanced, with the tree on the left providing a vertical anchor that draws the eye across the gentle slope of the hill. The inclusion of a distant windmill on the right horizon provides a specific sense of place, grounding the pastoral scene within the Dutch countryside. This print captures the quiet, contemplative nature of Ter Borch's work, providing an authentic representation of seventeenth-century artistic practice outside the formal studio environment.