![Gerard ter Borch the Younger - The Suitor’s Visit [c.1658] by Gandalf's Gallery](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2839/9064174895_60fca720f3.jpg)
From a prosperous social class himself, Ter Borch (Dutch, 1617 - 1681) travelled more extensively than any other seventeenth-century Dutch artist, visiting England, Italy, Spain, Flanders, Germany, and probably France. His pictures’ calm moods and brilliant renditions of fabrics set a precedent for later painters such as Vermeer and Metsu.
Ter Borch’s suitor is a client at a high-class brothel, and the lady answering the door is pricing her favours. Among the hidden clues is the other man who, warmed by the fireplace, recalls the heat of love. The seated woman idly strums a stringed instrument as a prelude to passion.
[National Gallery of Art, Washington - Oil on canvas, 80 x 75 cm]