Gerbrand Pancras (Alternative Title: Portrait of Hendrick Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz)

Gerard Ter Borch the younger, 1617 - 1681



Gerbrand Pancras (Alternative Title: Portrait of Hendrick Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz)

Gerard Ter Borch the younger 1617 - 1681

Summary

The sitter was formerly thought to be a royal prince on account of his exceptionally fine clothes. He has since been named as Gerbrand Pancras (1658-1716), son of the Amsterdam regent Nicolaes Pancras (1622-1678) and his wife Petronella de Waert (1628-1709), whose family were painted by Ter Borch on a visit to Amsterdam in the autumn of 1670. The inscription, now barely legible under the picture on the right of the painting, gives the boy's age as twelve, which helped to confirm the identification. The family belonged to the rich regent class, which wielded enormous power in the city, controlling contracts, and passing rights and privileges among themselves. Gerbrand was soon to inherit this power and wealth, becoming a member of the city council, a burgomaster and a magistrate. He is portrayed with great sensitivity as a slightly wary adolescent, perhaps uncomfortable in his finery and in the pose (the slender left wrist rests without conviction on his hip), yet his gaze is full of pride and composure. Ter Borch's late work is distinguished by the exquisite treatment of rich materials and he has realised beautifully the elegant costume, with its salmon pink ribbon and silver embroidery, as well as the ostrich feathers of his hat on the red velvet tablecloth. The artist trained first with his father, then went to Amsterdam in 1632. The following year he is recorded in Haarlem, where in 1634 he began an apprenticeship with Pieter Molijn (1595-1661). He joined the Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke in 1635. Ter Borch travelled widely, to England, Italy and Spain, eventually settling back in Holland in 1654. He spent most of his career in Deventer, where he specialised in painting scenes of everyday life and, from the 1660s, in portraiture. His most distinguished pupil is Caspar Netscher, but Gabriel Metsu, Pieter de Hooch, Frans van Mieris the Elder, Eglon van der Neer and Johannes Vermeer were also greatly influenced by his genre painting.

Display Label

Portrait of Gerbrand Pancras, formerly called Hendrick Casimir II, Prince of Nassau - Dietz 1670 Gerard ter Borch 1617-1681 Oil on canvas This youth was formerly thought to be a royal prince because of his exceptionally fine clothes. Recent research, however, has named him as Gerbrand Pancras whose family were painted by ter Borch when he visited Amsterdam in the autumn of 1670. The inscription, giving the sitter's age as 12, helped confirm this identification. It is now barely legible under the picture on the right. The family was a member of the rich regent class. They were more powerful than royalty, and kept a strangle-hold on the city, controlling contracts, and passing rights and privileges amongst themselves. Gerbrand was soon to inherit this power & wealth, becoming a member of the city council, a burgomaster and a magistrate. But here ter Borch depicts him as a sulky adolescent who, for all his finery and adult attire, has not yet grown into the role expected of him. Assheton - Bennett bequest 1979.447


Object Name

Gerbrand Pancras (Alternative Title: Portrait of Hendrick Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz)

Date Created

1670

Dimensions

Canvas: 33.4cm x 27.8cm
frame: 48.3cm x 43.5cm

accession number

1979.447

Place of creation

Holland

Support

canvas

Medium

oil paint

On Display

[G14] Manchester Art Gallery - Gallery 14
View all

Credit

Bequeathed by Mr and Mrs Assheton-Bennett.

Legal

© Manchester Art Gallery


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