The Rijksmuseum acquired other works at TEFAF that we will discuss later, but the only one for which it issued a triumphant press release was the Portrait of Moses Ter Borch at the Age of Two by Gesina ter Borch (ill. 1), sold by Zebregs&Röell Fine Arts.
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- 1. Gesina ter Borch (1631-1690)
Portrait of Moses ter Borch at the Age of Two, c. 1667
Oil on canvas - 56 x 45 cm
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
Photo: Zebregs&Röell - See the image in its page
Some will no doubt use the excuse that this museum has held the bulk of this artist’s known work since 1887, consisting mainly of watercolours and remaining in the family. But a glance at this one will convince us that Gesina ter Borch is decidedly not very talented.
It is therefore hard to believe that this acquisition was made for aesthetic reasons: the "only signed painting by Gesina ter Borch" as the text describes it is in fact - and this is not a question of different strokes for different folks - an poor painting that no museum in the class of the Rijksmuseum would have considered if it had been painted by a man.
Nevertheless, it is possible that the Dutch museum might be interested in the work as an addition to this ensemble, albeit at a reasonable price. But the website Artnet tells us that it went for... 3 million euros! A totally insane figure, proving once again that it doesn’t matter how beautiful or important a painting is if it’s by a woman.
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- 2. Giovanna Garzoni (1600-1670)
Portrait of an Apple
Tempera on vellum - 33.7 x 22.5 cm
Rob Smeets Gallery
Photo: Rob Smeets Gallery - See the image in its page
Let’s reiterate: buying a painting on this sole pretext is a very disservice to the feminist cause, by making it seem as if a woman painter couldn’t do any better. For the fair was full of high-quality works by female artists, starting with Giovanna Garzoni’s Apple at Paul Smeets (ill. 2), which we have already mentioned, the Diana di Rosa at the same Paul Smeets, and Elisabetta Sirani’s Judith and the Head of Holofernes at Porcini.
All good opportunities for the Dutch museum to spend the money from its Women of the Rijksmuseum’ Fund wisely. But they preferred this painting, whose main interest is to prove that Gesina ter Borch not only produced mediocre watercolours, but also at least one painting.
Last year, the National Gallery in Washington, a museum that is also at the forefront of acquiring works by women, bought another portrait of Moses, painted by Gerard ter Borch with, hypothetically, Gesina’s help (see news item 8/4/23). A comparison of the two paintings leaves little doubt that Gesina’s involvement in the latter was minimal at best.