TERBORCH, Gerard
(b. 1617, Zwolle, d. 1681, Deventer)

Woman Reading a Letter

1660-62
Oil on canvas, 79 x 68 cm
Royal Collection, London

Ter Borch frequently represented elegantly dressed men and women writing or reading letters, often, as here, in the company of servants, family members, or friends quietly awaiting the reader's reactions. Well-to-do burghers relished the aristocratic social ritual of the love letter.