Young Man Reading

ca. 1680

Gerard ter Borch Dutch, 1617-1681

On View

Dutch Golden Age, Level 3, South Wing

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Provenance

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Scenes in which protagonists read, write, send, or receive letters were popular subjects for painting in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, reflecting a larger cultural interest in literacy and writing. Amsterdam stood as the major European center for printing and book publishing, while the Dutch educational system placed a significant emphasis on reading and writing. Penmanship played an important role in the elementary school curriculum and later served as a criterion in many hiring processes. For both men and women, the ability to write legible and persuasive letters was highly valued. Gerard ter Borch skillfully painted an exploration of the theme in Young Man Reading. Clad in fashions of the 1680s, the figure has laid his gloves and walking-stick nearby to concentrate on reading. The curtained bed at the right background may imply that he holds a love letter.

Title Young Man Reading

Artwork Date ca. 1680

Artist Gerard ter Borch

Life Dates 1617-1681

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Dutch

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on oak panel

Dimensions Unframed: 15 7/8 × 13 1/2 inches (40.3 × 34.3 cm) Framed: 22 5/8 × 20 × 2 3/8 inches (57.5 × 50.8 × 6 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Painting

Credit City of Detroit Purchase

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 29.256

Markings

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Provenance

June 5, 1754, sold by (Posthumus & de Leth, Amsterdam, Netherlands) lot 113 [een lezend mannetje];
April 17, 1757, sold by (de Leth, Amsterdam, Netherlands) auction H. Wannaar, lot 21 [een lezend mannetje].
by 1929, (Henry Reinhardt & Son, New York, New York, USA);
1929-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Hofstede de Groot, C. Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, vol. 5. Esslingen and Paris, 1912, p. 42, no. 105a. [Lesender Mann.]

Valentiner, W.R. "Portrait of a Man Reading by Gerard Terborch." Bulletin of the DIA 11, no. 1 (October 1929): pp. 2-3 (cover ill.).

Ninth Loan Exhibition of Dutch Genre and Landscape Painting of the Seventeenth Century. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1929, p. xvii, cat. 71.

Heil, W. "Holländische Ausstellung im Detroiter Museum." Pantheon 5 (1930): pp. 32-36.

Heil, W. Catalogue of Paintings in the Permanent Collection of The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1930, cat. 221 (ill.).

Exhibition of Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1931, unpaginated.

Richardson, E.P., ed. Detroit Institute of Arts Catalogue of Paintings. Detroit, 1944, p. 131, no. 221.

50th Anniversary Exhibition: The Art of Europe during the 16th-17th Centuries. Exh. cat., Worcester Art Museum. Worcester, MA, 1948, p. 25, cat. 19.

Renaissance and Baroque Art. Exh. cat., Seattle Art Museum. Seattle, 1950, p. 15, cat. 88.

Masterpieces of Art Exhibition in Memory of W.R. Valentiner. Exh. cat., North Carolina Museum of Art. Raleigh, 1959, pp. 144, 155, no. 92 (ill.).

Gudlaugsson, S.J. Gerard Ter Borch. The Hague, 1959-60, vol. 1, p. 407, no. 289 (ill.), vol. 2, p. 240, cat. 289.

Stechow, W. "Review of S.J. Gudlaugsson, Gerard Ter Borch." Art Bulletin 43 (1961): pp. 338-341. [suggesting an earlier dating.]

Leselust: Niederländische Malerei von Rembrandt bis Vermeer. Schirn Kunsthalle. Frankfurt-am-Main, 1993, p. 156, cat. 13 (ill.).

Bandes, Susan J. Pursuits and Pleasures: Baroque Paintings from the Detroit Institute of Arts. Exh. cat., Dennos Museum Center, Kalamazoo Art Museum, Kresge Art Museum, Muskegon Museum of Art. Battle Creek, 2003, pp. 10, 40, 41 (ill.).

Keyes, George S. et al. Masters of Dutch Painting: The Detroit Institute of Arts. London, 2004, pp. 34–35, no. 10 (ill.).

Gerard ter Borch. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art and Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington, D.C. and Detroit, 2004, pp. 180, 213, cat. 50 (ill.).

Keyes, G.S. "A Brief History of the European Paintings Collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts with a Focus on the Dutch School." in the catalogue for The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF). Maastricht, 2005, pp. 10-15.

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