Rivierscène met gezelschap op een boot en een prieel c. 1655

Gesina ter Borch made this drawing of a riverscape with figures in a boat using pen in ink and watercolour. The scene presents a tranquil view of leisure, with a boat carrying passengers along a calm river, set against a backdrop of a garden and pavilion. Ter Borch was from the Netherlands, a country that in the 17th century, enjoyed a period known as the Dutch Golden Age when it became a major economic and artistic powerhouse. The presence of the garden pavilion, a feature of country estates, shows a growing merchant class who had the resources to enjoy the countryside. The drawing invites us to consider how social class and leisure were being represented in Dutch art, reflecting the values and aspirations of a society undergoing rapid transformation. To understand this drawing better, research into Dutch social history is essential. This drawing becomes more meaningful when understood within its specific social and institutional context.