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

Portrait of Catarina van Leunink

after 1654
Oil on canvas, 80 x 59 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

In the 1640s Terborch developed a type of small full-length portrait with a neutral background and often returned to it in his late period when depicting wealthy burgers. This model's magnificent dress enabled the artist to demonstrate his virtuoso skill in conveying fabrics while the subtle colour scheme recalls the finest examples of English miniature portraiture and the gala pictures of van Dyck, with which he had become acquainted in London.