Woman at a Mirror
Also titled Vrouw voor de spiegel
Gerard ter Borch (II) (Zwolle, 1617–1681)
c. 1650
- Medium
- panel, oil paint (paint)
- Classification
- painting
- Dimensions
- height 36.5 cm x width 28.5 cm
- Museum
- Rijksmuseum
- Credit line
- De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland
- Rights
- Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
About this work
A young boy holds up a mirror for the woman in the satin gown, who gazes upward at a far more plainly dressed woman. In the 17th century, mirrors symbolized vanity and the transience of life. This painting serves as a cautionary reminder: youth and beauty are fleeting. Ter Borch’s sister, Gesina, also an artist, probably modelled for both women, and his brother Moses for the boy.
