Hoofd van een jonge vrouw met krullend haar c. 1660

Moses ter Borch drew this head of a young woman with charcoal on paper in the Netherlands in the mid-17th century. During this time, the Dutch Republic experienced a Golden Age, marked by unprecedented economic prosperity and cultural flourishing. Ter Borch, working in this context, captures a sense of quiet introspection and private life, which was typical of the Dutch cultural values of the time. The choice of charcoal and the intimate scale reflect a growing interest in personal and domestic themes, moving away from the grand historical or religious subjects that dominated earlier periods. As a historian, I would explore how the rising middle class and their patronage influenced artists like ter Borch to focus on everyday life. Archival records of merchant families and their art collections would reveal more about the audiences for such images and the social values they reflect.