A delicate ink sketch by Harmen ter Borch depicting a young boy carrying a basket, rendered with the fluid, observational style of the Dutch Golden Age.

This ink sketch by Harmen ter Borch captures a young boy viewed from behind, carrying a basket on his arm. The work is characteristic of the informal, observational drawings produced by the Ter Borch family in Zwolle. Harmen, the younger half-brother of the famous genre painter Gerard ter Borch, demonstrated a keen eye for the everyday figures that populated his immediate surroundings. His style is marked by economy of line and a direct approach to capturing form.

The drawing is executed with confident, fluid strokes that define the boy's posture and the volume of his clothing. The artist uses a simple ink wash to suggest shadow and depth, particularly around the basket and the lower garments. The figure is depicted in a moment of stillness, yet the loose handling of the pen gives the image a sense of immediacy. Such sketches were often kept in family albums, serving as studies of costume or posture that could be referenced for larger compositions.

As a member of a family of artists, Harmen ter Borch was immersed in the artistic traditions of the Dutch Golden Age. His work reflects the period's interest in genre subjects, focusing on the mundane activities of ordinary people. The paper shows signs of age, including a slight discolouration and a numbered mark in the upper corner, which suggests it was once part of a larger collection or sketchbook. This print offers a glimpse into the private practice of a young artist whose career was cut short by his early death. It is a quiet, unassuming piece that documents the observational habits of a seventeenth-century Dutch draughtsman.