Tijter Pursuing Amarillis - Gesina ter Borch

A charming seventeenth-century Dutch illustration from the personal album of Gesina ter Borch, depicting a pastoral scene with accompanying poetry.

This work by Gesina ter Borch originates from her personal album, a collection of drawings, poetry, and transcriptions that offer a window into the cultural life of a seventeenth-century Dutch gentlewoman. The page features a pastoral scene rendered in delicate watercolour, accompanied by handwritten verses in Dutch. The narrative depicts the shepherd Tijter in pursuit of the shepherdess Amarillis, a common trope in the pastoral literature of the period.

Ter Borch employs a light, illustrative touch, focusing on the movement of the figures as they traverse a path near a river. The composition is balanced, with the figures positioned in the foreground against a simplified, open background. The ink calligraphy above the scene provides the textual context, blending literary interests with visual storytelling. Such albums were often shared among family and friends, serving as a form of social engagement and creative expression.

The artist, sister to the painter Gerard ter Borch, demonstrates a keen ability to capture the fashions and gestures of her time. Her work is notable for its intimate scale and the integration of text with image, a practice that reflects the domestic education and artistic pursuits available to women of her social standing in the Dutch Republic. The muted palette and fine line work are characteristic of her surviving album pages, which remain preserved as significant examples of private, non-commissioned art from the era.