The 37th edition of Tefaf Maastricht had only been open for a few minutes on Thursday morning when the first major purchase was announced. As has often happened in the past, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam made a major purchase at the international art and antiques fair. The museum bought the only signed painting by Gesina ter Borch (1631-1690) for 3 million euros.
It is a youth portrait measuring 56 by 45 centimeters by Moses ter Borgh, the artist's brother who died in 1667 at the age of 22. Gesina ter Borgh painted a posthumous portrait of Moses at the age of 2 shortly afterwards.
The Rijksmuseum has owned the estate of the Ter Borch artist family since 1886, including virtually the entire oeuvre of Gesina ter Borch, consisting of 59 individual drawings and three albums full of watercolor drawings. It was known that she also made oil paintings, but until now no undisputed example had surfaced.
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Goosebumps
According to director Taco Dibbits, the purchase is “the crowning achievement” of Gesina ter Borch and the canvas offers an intimate glimpse into her personal life. “The pain of loss and the importance of happy memories are universal and therefore still palpable after 350 years.”
The youth portrait of Moses ter Borch was discovered by art dealer Dickie Zebregs, of Ze-bregs & Röell Fine Art and Antiques in Amsterdam and Maastricht. The antique dealer, who is participating in -Tefaf for the first time, found the portrait at a Parisian decorator. Ter Borch's signature emerged when the painting was cleaned.
Directors of the Rijksmusem, collectors and journalists crowded together in front of the painting on Thursday afternoon. Zebregs, at 32 years old probably one of the youngest exhibitors at Tefaf, was laughing at the pandemonium. “My scholarship has already been successful, I have been standing here with goosebumps for a long time.”
Moses ter Borch, who was also an artist himself, joined the navy at the age of 19 to fight against the British in the Second English War (1665-1667). He died at the age of 22 from injuries sustained during the storming of the English coast.
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