Portrait of Geertruid Marienburg (née Assink, Pendant to inv. no. O 640)

The pair portrait of the Marienburg couple is a typical example of ter Borch’s production, in which he preferred smaller formats, yet depicted the whole figures, mostly in neutral settings. The portraits were created in the early 1660s - thus before Marienburg was elected Burgmaster of Deventer. It seems very probable that they were created on the occasion of their wedding in 1661, when Geertruid was sixteen and Willem reached twenty-seven. The hypothesis of wedding portraits is supported by the abundantly carved frames coming from the workshop of Derck Daniels settled in Deventer. The motifs, such as a sunflower, grapevine and a rose symbolise abundance, fertility and love. The luxury lifestyle of this couple can be seen in their clothing - the woman’s black dress with a satin skirt richly embroidered, her earrings, her pearl necklace and a clasp featuring a large pearl. In his time, it was mainly painting of the various kinds of fabrics - satin, in particular - that ter Borch excelled in.