Workshop of Gerard ter Borch the Younger (Zwolle, Netherlands, 1617 - 1681, Deventer, Netherlands)
The Music Lesson, about 1668
Oil on canvas , 66.2 x 52.4 cm (26 1/16 x 20 5/8 in.)
General admission for children 17 years and under is always free
This vertical oil painting shows a young woman being given a music lesson by a male teacher. The student sits holding a gourd-shaped stringed instrument under her right arm which she plucks with her right fingers, and with her left hand, fingers one of the two black necks bearing rows of frets and pegs which extend over her left shoulder. She wears a satin textured floor-length dress under a dark red jacket bordered with wide strips of white fur. Her face is in profile as she looks down toward the music, her light skin, delicate pointed nose, and slightly open mouth detailed. Her blond hair is in a soft bun at the back of her head held by a blue bow, except for several tight corkscrew ringlets around her face and one long ringlet at the base of the left side of her neck. Behind her stands the teacher, his right hand raised above her music as he instructs her. He is attired in a black cloak and wide brimmed hat, with white ruffles seen over his right wrist and around his neck. He looks downward at the student, his square, medium light skinned mustached face framed by dark brown wavy shoulder-length hair. An iridescent green fabric-covered table is against the left wall of the room , at the right side of the woman and in front of the teacher. On the table, a short music stand props up an open book of music. A larger stringed instrument lies across the back of the table. A wooden straight chair upholstered in greenish black leather stands sideways in front of the table, a small, white and brown dog curled up on the seat. The lesson takes place on a tan floor in a gray room, two walls of which can be on the left and in the back, the only break in the gray wall being a brown interior door in the far left corner and the dim outline of a large bed against the back wall on the right. An unseen light source from the front illuminates the student, teacher, music and dog.
Dutch Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.