Cavaliers

Gerard ter Borch's Cavaliers (1638) is an early work by the Dutch master, painted when he was only twenty-one and already demonstrating the refined technique that would make him one of the most admired painters of the Dutch Golden Age. The subject of cavaliers — fashionably dressed young soldiers — was popular in Dutch painting, reflecting the military culture of the Republic during the ongoing war with Spain. This early canvas shows ter Borch absorbing the influence of Frans Hals and the Haarlem school, while already displaying his distinctive sensitivity to fabric textures and social comportment.

Even in this early work, ter Borch's gift for rendering different fabric textures is evident, with the cavaliers' clothing painted in varied touches that distinguish silk from leather, lace from wool, foreshadowing the virtuoso textile painting of his mature career.