Portrait of Catarina van Leunink

This 1663 portrait of Catarina van Leunink belongs to the group of refined female portraits from ter Borch's middle Deventer period that are now considered his highest achievement. Van Leunink's identity connects her to the Overijssel gentry or upper burgher class. Ter Borch's female sitters are often depicted in precious fabrics — satin, velvet — whose rendering became his most admired technical attribute. The 1663 date places the work in a particularly productive and assured phase, after his mature style had fully crystallised.

The sitter stands in a three-quarter pose, her dress occupying a significant portion of the canvas. Ter Borch deploys layered glazes and fine dry-brush strokes to capture the highlights and shadows of the silk, building up the illusion of material weight and sheen. The face is observed with quiet accuracy.