The Suitor's Visit
A man bows to a woman as another man looks on from the shadowy background, while a woman sitting at a table plays a lute in this vertical painting. All the people have pale skin. The bowing man enters from an open door to our left. He faces our right in profile and has a bumped nose, a dark mustache, and his brown hair falls loosely over his shoulders. He wears a voluminous, black jacket that has a wide white collar and flat, plate-like, starched white cuffs. He bends forward with one foot stretched in front of him, as he gazes at the woman to our right. His hands are spread wide. His left forefinger and thumb touch to make an O shape, and he holds a wide-brimmed, black hat in his right hand, closer to us. At the center of the composition, the woman wears a dress with a coral-pink bodice and a cream-white satin skirt trimmed with gold down the front and around the hem. She faces our left in profile and looks at the man, her cheeks flushed. Her eyebrows are slightly raised over dark eyes, and she has a straight nose and the hint of a double chin. Her blond hair is pulled back under a lace covering, and curls frame her face. A black ribbon is tied into a bow at the shoulder closer to us. A brown and white dog, about knee-high, stands between the man and woman. To our right, a young woman sits at the far side of a table playing a lute. She wears a sapphire-blue dress and looks down at her instrument. One elbow is propped on the patterned rug that covers the table. A second instrument, perhaps a cello, lies on the table, and a wooden chair with a pine-green upholstered seat has been pulled up to our side of the table. Almost lost in the shadows at the back of the room between the two women, a man with a goatee and wearing a brown jacket and trousers stands with his body angled to our right as he looks over his shoulder at the couple at the door. He stands in front of a fireplace with an opening so large that the mantle is supported by columns as tall as the man.
Details
- Palette
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- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- overall: 80 x 75 cm (31 1/2 x 29 1/2 in.) framed: 110.8 x 106 x 12.7 cm (43 5/8 x 41 3/4 x 5 in.)
- Department
- CNE-B
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
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Seduction and Courtship Both · 98%
The title identifies a suitor’s visit, and the image shows a man bowing toward an elegantly dressed woman in a formal social encounter.
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Interiors Visual · 99%
The figures are situated in a furnished room with an open doorway, patterned wall covering, a table, chair, and prominent fireplace.
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Scenes of Everyday Life Visual · 91%
The painting presents a social episode involving several people engaged in distinct actions within a domestic room.
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Performing Arts Both · 99%
The catalog identifies a woman playing a lute, which is clearly visible at the right side of the image.
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Human Figure Visual · 100%
Four human figures are visible: the bowing man, the standing woman, the seated lute player, and a partially shadowed man near the fireplace.
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Animals Both · 100%
A brown-and-white dog is clearly visible between the bowing man and the standing woman; the catalog also describes it.
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Implied Narrative Both · 94%
The title and the figures’ gestures and positions suggest an unfolding social encounter rather than a static arrangement.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 98%
The composition is dominated by deep browns, blacks, and dark greens, with illumination concentrated on the figures and selected furnishings.
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Highly Detailed Visual · 95%
Fine visible details include lace, cuffs, satin folds, patterned textiles, instruments, architectural woodwork, and furniture.
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Patterns Visual · 96%
Repeated ornamental motifs are visible across the wall covering and the richly patterned table textile.
Medium and Techniques
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Oil Painting Both · 100%
The National Gallery of Art catalogs the work as oil on canvas, and the image visibly shows a painted scene with layered tonal modeling and detailed surface effects.
Time Periods
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17th Century Art Both · 100%
The catalog dates the work to c. 1658, placing it in the seventeenth century; the image presents a period interior scene with historically styled dress and furnishings.
Source & rights
Gerard ter Borch the Younger. The Suitor's Visit. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.