Saint Cecilia with Two Angels Gesina ter Borch (1631-1690)

black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on blue paper, c. 1660-1661

Ter Borch depicted a majestic Cecilia, the patron saint of music, playing the organ. She must have known a similar composition from a print after a painting by Peter Paul Rubens. Unlike Rubens, Ter Borch endowed her own angels with an active music-making role. Thus, the angel on the left sings along attentively and the winged boy on the right operates the bellows.

  • Artwork typedrawing
  • Object numberRP-T-1887-A-1053
  • Dimensionsheight 368 mm x width 242 mm