Self-Portrait in a Cartouche with the Ter Borch Family Coat of Arms
Gesina ter Borch placed this self-portrait at the beginning of her Poëzie-album (Poetry Album), consisting of over 90 poems to be sung accompanied by delicate watercolour drawings. Such handwritten, illustrated songbooks are very rare. This album testifies to Ter Borch’s boundless inventiveness and ambition. Beneath the self-portrait, a schoolmaster not surprisingly sang the praises of both her ‘konstrijcke hant’ (artistic hand) and her ‘geestrijck verstant’ (brilliant mind).