Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 5, 1913.djvu/81

 xvn GERARD TER BORCH 65 Sales. Durney, Paris, June 21, 1797 (2401 francs). General Verdier, Paris, 1816 (9500 francs). Engraved by Romanet, in the " Le Brun Gallery"; etched by Rajon. Sales. Abbe de Gevigney, Paris, December I, 1779 (9 francs). Le Brun, Paris, September 29, 1806. R. de Saint-Victor, Paris, November 26, 1822 (2860 francs, T. Emmerson). In the collection of Richard Foster, Clewer Manor. Sales. C. Sedelmeyer, Vienna, December 20, 1872, No. 156 (8050 florins). Baron de Beurnonville, Paris, May 9, 1881, No. 521 (4500 francs). In the possession of the Paris dealer Otto Mundler. In the possession of the Paris dealer C. Sedelmeyer, " Catalogue of 300 Paintings," 1898, No. 215. In the possession of the Paris dealer F. Kleinberger. In the possession of the late Adolphe Schloss, Paris. 176. THE MESSAGE. Sm. Suppl. 21. In the middle of a room a fair young woman, seen almost from the back, stands reading a letter brought her by a young man-servant who stands on the right behind the table. The lady wears a white satin gown, a striped bodice, and a dark cape ; she has ribbon twined in her hair, and a string of pearls round her neck. The man-servant, whose curls fall on his shoulders, has a plain costume with a white collar, and holds his hat under his right arm. In the right foreground is the table with a large-patterned cloth, on which lies an open book. To the left is a chair. On the grey wall behind the servant, near a door which is plainly visible, hangs the portrait of a gentleman. Above a grey canopied bed, standing by the wall, hang two landscapes. " Of superlative quality " (Sm.). Signed in full on the moulding between the legs of the chair ; canvas, 28 inches by 21 i inches. The figure of the young lady occurs again in 45 (Dresden) and 186 (Amsterdam). Engraved by Henriquez and MossolofF ; lithographed by Huot. In the collection of Count Briihl. In the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 872 ; it was there in 1842 (Sm., who notes that the description corresponds with 183). 176*. A Young Lady reading. Sale. Amsterdam, May 18, 1707, No. II (52 florins): A Lady writing a Letter. Sale. Amsterdam, June 4, 1727 (Hoet, i. 317), No. 23 (102 florins). i j6c. A Girl seated with a Letter in her Hand. Uncommonly spirited and carefully rendered. 12 inches by 9 inches. Sale. Samuel van Huls, The Hague, September 3, 1737 (Hoet, i. 486), No. 88 (91 florins). 176^. The Lady writing a Letter. A lady sits writing a letter. Behind her is a soldier awaiting the answer. 19 inches by 16 inches. VOL. v F