Dutch painter Gerard ter Borch (1617-1681) painter this soldier on horseback in 1634 when he was still a teenager. He painted three versions of it, this one is from the collection of @mfaboston in Boston. Seen from behind, this cavalier’s downcast head and slumped posture might imply the weight, and perhaps even the loneliness, of war. Ter Borch grew up in a time when hostilities between the Dutch Republic and Spain had resumed after the Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621). By then a much larger conflict had erupted in the Holy Roman Empire, the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). This war not only involved the different states of this Empire, but also other major European powers such as Spain, Sweden, France and the Dutch Republic. These countries either intervened by military force or by financial support of their allies. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 ended the war that had devastated large parts of the Holy Roman Empire. This peace was a series of treaties, one of which was the Peace of Münster that finally ended the conflict between the Dutch and the Spanish Monarchy. #mfaboston #museumoffineartsboston #gerardterborch #terborch #soldier #horseback #war #eightyyearswar #thirtyyearswar #peaceofwestphalia #peaceofmünster #spain #dutch #dutchrepublic #seventeenthcentury #art #museum (bij Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-FiosqlR4Q/?igshid=1o5bacycs6d93