Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldierca. 1655

Gerard ter Borch the Younger(Zwolle 1617 – 1681 Deventer)oil on canvas
78.1 x 76.2 cm
GB-104Currently on view at: The National Museum ofChina, Beijing© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier
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How To Cite
Wieseman, Marjorie E. "Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier." In The Leiden Collection Catalogue. Edited byArthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York, 2017.
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© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier
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Fast asleep in his chair, legs casually crossed and arms wrapped tightly

Comparative Figures

over his belly, Gerard ter Borch the Younger’s soldier enjoys a respite fromhis military responsibilities. His plumed hat has been tossed haphazardly
on the floor, and his pistol is wrapped in a cloth and lies on the tablebeside him. This peaceful interlude is about to end, however, as a
trumpeter has arrived with a message, and the woman moves to wake theofficer by tickling him with a piece of straw. The trumpeter scratches hishead, seemingly perplexed and perhaps concerned that his urgent
message has not been met with the decisive response it requires.
The inherently paradoxical motif of the sleeping soldier has a long history

Fig 1. Jacob Duck, Soldiers
Arming Themselves, mid-1630s,
oil on panel, 43 x 57 cm, The
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The
Ude Memorial Fund and Gift ofBruce B. Dayton, inv. 88.2

in the visual arts. Sleep can render a fierce and vigilant warrior slack anddefenseless, but it can also reduce a soldier to an object of ridicule,emblematic of sloth and dereliction of duty, particularly when his slumber
has resulted from overindulgence in alcohol or tobacco.[1] One piquantvariation on the theme involved lightly tickling the sleeper to theamusement of his companions. The low comic nature of tickled sleep
dovetailed nicely with the typically ribald humor of tavern and guardroom
scenes, in which companions anticipate, with a smirk, the sleeper’s
unpredictable and ungoverned reactions to a playful tickle often
accompanied by a quick groping of the genitals. Ter Borch may have been
inspired in his choice of subject by the work of Pieter Codde (1599–1678)
and Willem Duyster (1598/99–1635) in Amsterdam, and by the Utrecht
painter Jacob Duck (1600–67), who regularly included sleeping soldiers in
his guardroom scenes and also explored the theme of both male andfemale sleepers being tickled awake (fig 1).[2] Later in the century (andFig 2. Jacob Ochtervelt, TheSleeping Soldier, ca. 1660–63, oilon panel, 46 x 37.7 cm,Manchester City Art Gallery(Assheton Bennett Collection),inv. 1979.483, © Manchester CityGalleries

possibly influenced by Ter Borch’s paintings), Jacob Ochtervelt(1634/35–1708) made a minor specialization in scenes centering onsleeping soldiers being subjected to such teasing (fig 2).[3]Ter Borch’s Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier is an unusually decorous
iteration of the theme: settled in his chair, the portly soldier is gentlycoaxed awake with a light touch from the young woman. The strawwrapped bottle on the table beside him suggests that his stupor might
have been induced by drink; his inert corpulence, with his gun is swaddled
in a cloth, casts serious doubt on his ability to quickly leap into action.
There is playfulness in the woman’s chosen method of waking the soldier,considering that the trumpeter could surely accomplish the task with brisk
if brutal efficiency.

Fig 3. Gerard ter Borch, Sleeping
Soldier, ca. 1656–57, oil oncanvas, 63.5 x 55 cm, The Taft
Museum, Cincinnati, inv. no.
1931.398© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier
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Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier is closely related to Ter Borch’sSleeping
Soldier in the Taft Museum in Cincinnati, which has been dated about
1656–57, a year or two later than the present work (fig 3).[4] Thedifferences between the two paintings are subtle but instructive, as they
demonstrate concisely the artist’s transformation from a painter of simple
guardrooms and domestic scenes (for example, GB-101) into anaccomplished purveyor of supremely elegant high-life interiors. Though thefigure of the sleeping soldier is much the same in the two pictures(possibly suggesting the use of a single figure drawing for both), the pose,
costume and accessories of both the messenger and the woman havebeen considerably modified. In the present picture, the figures are denselyclustered in the center of the composition, but in the Taft painting they aremore loosely arranged. Furthermore, in the Leiden Collection picture, Ter
Borch eliminated extra space at the bottom of the composition, thereby
bringing the figures closer to the picture plane and enhancing theimmediacy of the narrative. He also elaborated on certain details in thepresent work—the feathers adorning the sleeping soldier’s hat on the floor
at right, and the arrangement of objects on the table—to produce a more
overtly luxurious effect.

Fig 4. W. Chevalier after Gerard
Terburg, “The Trumpeter”
engraving from Allan
Cunningham, The Cabinet
Gallery of Pictures by the First
Masters of the English andForeign Schools (London, G. andW. Nicol [etc.], 1836), Yale Centerfor British Art, Paul Mellon
Collection

But the changes to the woman are literally and figuratively the mostrevealing. Whereas the girl in the present painting wears her jak modestlyfastened, and shrouds her head with a kerchief (a similar outfit is seen in
The Message Refused in Munich, of about 1655–58[5]), the young woman
in the Taft picture displays a beguiling dishabille. Rather than falling in
simple vertical folds, her white satin gown pools around her feet,Fig 5. Detail of the clay pipes inW. Chevalier’s engraving “TheTrumpeter”

emphasizing the gleaming fabric. By altering her pose so that she reaches
to tickle her dozing companion with her left (rather than her right) hand,
Ter Borch eliminated that physical and visual barrier, opening the way for
flirtatious engagement with both the soldier within the painting and thekeen viewer without. Similarly, by deleting the messenger’s enormous hat,
shifting the position of his trumpet, and adjusting his pose to accentuate
the sweeping line of his figure, which terminates in one elegantly turnedout toe, Ter Borch transformed the figure from an awkward emissary to a
bemused co-conspirator.
Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier is in a relatively good state ofpreservation, although dark areas, such as the sleeping soldier’s hair, aresomewhat abraded.[6] Although the painting has been in the past attributed© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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to Caspar Netscher (c. 1639–84),[7] and was acquired as such by theLeiden Collection, details of the still life and of the costumes of the soldier
and the messenger are sensitively handled and characteristic of Ter
Borch’s hand. When Nancy Krieg restored the painting in 2005, thedecision was made (based on William Chevalier’s engraving (fig 4) to add
the thin strand of hay to the woman’s right hand, which had presumably
been removed inadvertently during an earlier restoration.
The existence of several virtually identical versions of the composition
makes it difficult to clarify the early provenance of Lady Tickling aSleeping Soldier, particularly as the abbreviated nature of most early salecatalogue descriptions render them ambiguous at best.[8] William
Chevalier’s engraving, published in 1836, most closely resembles thepresent version in compositional details, including the fragments of clay
pipe stems on the floor (fig 5), as well as in its broader proportions,making it possible to identify this painting as the one then in the collectionof Richard Artis. Version 2 (see Versions section), which is signed jointly
by Ter Borch and Netscher, is very close to the present painting, but with afew notable differences: there are more complex folds in the woman’s
white satin skirt, a planked wooden floor, and more slimly proportioned
figures, all typical of the sort of adjustments Netscher made when adapting
his master’s work.[9]-Marjorie E. Wieseman© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier
Page 6 of 10Endnotes
1. On the theme of sleep in Dutch genre painting, see Nanette Salomon, “Dreamers, Idlers, andOther Dozers: Aspects of Sleep in Dutch Art” (Ph.D. diss., Institute of Fine Arts, New York
University, 1984). Specifically on sleeping soldiers in the work of Ter Borch and others, seeDavid Kunzle, From Criminal to Courtier: The Soldier in Netherlandish Art, 1550–1672(Leiden and Boston, 2002), 603–4.
2. See Nanette Salomon, Jacob Duck and the Gentrification of Dutch Genre Painting(Doornspijk, 1998), especially nos. 31, 73, 78A-C, 91 and 92. Ter Borch painted at least twoother scenes incorporating sleeping soldiers; see Sturla J. Gudlaugsson, Geraert ter Borch,
2 vols. (The Hague, 1959–60), 2:98, 158–61, nos. 79 and 146.
3. Susan Donohue Kuretsky, The Paintings of Jacob Ochtervelt (1634–1682) (Oxford, 1979),
especially nos. 11, 14, 15, 99, 100, and 100A.
4. On this painting see Walter Liedtke, in The Taft Museum: Its History and Collections, ed.
Edward J. Sullivan, 2 vols. (New York, 1995), 1:170–71.
5. Oil on panel, 46 x 46.5 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, inv. 206. Sturla J. Gudlaugsson,Geraert ter Borch, 2 vols. (The Hague, 1959–60), 2:137–38, no. 124.
6. See the examination report prepared by Jevon Thistlewood, 27 April 2012; additional
information on the painting’s restoration is provided in a research memo prepared by Lara
Yeager-Crasselt, December 2011. These reports are kept at The Leiden Gallery.
7. The painting was attributed to Netscher in Nanette Salomon, “Dreamers, Idlers, and Other
Dozers: Aspects of Sleep in Dutch Art” (Ph.D. diss., Institute of Fine Arts, New YorkUniversity, 1984), and in the sales catalogues of 2001 and 2004 (see Provenance).
8. In addition to the paintings listed in the Versions section, paintings of similar description
appeared in the following sales, which may or may not be identical to the present painting or
one of the versions listed:—Sale, Belville, Christie’s, London, 13–14 June 1825, no. 71 (“An officer asleep; his wife
waking him, as a trumpeter awaits his orders,” bought in for £70.7).
—Sale, Stanley, London, 22 April 1830, no. 71 (“A Trumpeter, and a lady waking an officer,”for £55.13).
—Sale, H. Williams, Christie’s, London, 2 July 1836, no. 111 (“The Trumpeter: a lady in acrimson corset is tickling the face of a sleeping soldier in a cuirass; the trumpeter standingby”; for £19.19 to Talbot).
9. See Marjorie E. Wieseman, Caspar Netscher and Late Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting(Doornspijk, 2002), 53–55 and 169–70, no. 5; and eadem, “The Craeyvanger Portraits inContext—Shedding Light on Caspar Netscher’s Early Career,” Oud Holland 127 (2014):© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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31–47.

ProvenanceSale, [Ramsay Richard] Reinagle, Christie’s, London, 30 June 1827, no. 64 (“The Wife of an
Officer waking him, and a Trumpeter waiting for Orders; highly finished,” for £89.50 toRichard Artis).
Richard Artis (1782–1860), London.
(Possibly) Mr. Brown, London, 1830.1[1](Possibly sale, Phillips, London, 18–20 July 1835, no. 128 [for £64.10]); Ellis (possibly Wynn
Ellis [1790–1875]), London (his sale, Christie’s, London, 26 May 1836, no. 102 [bought in at61 Gns.]). 2[2]Lt. Col. Francis Edwin Salvin Bowlby, M. C. (b. 1904), Gilston Park, Hertford, by 1933 (hissale, Sotheby’s, London, 27 March 1963, no. 91 [for £5,000 to Goyen]). 3[3][Alfred Brod, London, 1963–65].
Private collection.
(Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 25 January 2001, no. 204, as by Caspar Netscher, unsold;sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 5 June 2002, no. 40, as by Caspar Netscher, bought in).
[Johnny van Haeften, Ltd., London, 2004].
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2004, as by Caspar Netscher.

Provenance Notes

1. John Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemishand French Painters, 9 vols. (London, 1829–42), 4:131, no. 43; Gudlaugsson (Sturla J.
Gudlaugsson, Geraert ter Borch , 2 vols. [The Hague, 1959–60], 2:134, no.121a) identifies
this with our Version 2.
2. Both sales identify the painting as that described by Smith as his no. 43: John Smith,ACatalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and FrenchPainters, 9 vols. (London, 1829–42), 4:131, no. 43.

© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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3. According to a handwritten annotation in the copy of Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, A
Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the SeventeenthCentury Based on the Work of John Smith, 8 vols. (London, 1907–27), translated from
Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten höllandischen
Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, 10 vols. (Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28), held at the Libraryof the National Gallery, London (5:31).

Exhibition History
London, Alfred Brod Gallery, “Annual Autumn Exhibition of Dutch and Flemish Paintings ofthe 17th Century,” 17 October–16 November 1963, no. 91 [lent by Alfred Brod Gallery].
Düsseldorf, Galerie Alfred Brod, “Fünfzig Gemälde alter Meister: Ausstellung imKünstlerverein Malkasten,” 19–31 October 1963 [lent by Alfred Brod Gallery].
Oxford,Ashmolean

Museum,onloanwith

thepermanentcollection,January

2011–August 2015 [lent by the present owner].
Beijing, National Museum of China, “Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The
Leiden Collection,” 17 June–3 September 2017 [lent by the present owner].

References
Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish andFrench Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829–42, 4:131, no. 43 (as “in the possession of Mr.
Brown, 1830”).
Cunningham, Allan. Cabinet Gallery of Pictures by the First Masters of English and Foreign
Schools. 2 vols. London, 1836, 2:43–45, no. 17.
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent
Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith . 8 vols.
London, 1907–27. Translated from Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke
der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts . 10 vols. Esslingen andParis, 1907–28, 5:31–32, no. 77.
Brod, Alfred. Annual Autumn Exhibition of Dutch and Flemish Paintings of the 17 th Century.
London, 1963, no. 6.
© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier
Page 9 of 10Brod, Alfred. Fünfzig Gemälde alter Meister: Ausstellung im Künstlerverein Malkasten
Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf, 1963, 80–83.
Salomon, Nanette. “Dreamers, Idlers, and Other Dozers: Aspects of Sleep in Dutch Art.”
Ph.D. diss., Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 1984, 105–7, no. 106 (as by Caspar
Netscher).
Kunzle,David. From

Criminal

toCourtier:

TheSoldier

inNetherlandish

Art,1550–1672. Leiden and Boston, 2002, 604.
Wieseman,Marjorie

E. Caspar

NetscherandLate

Seventeenth-Century

DutchPainting. Doornspijk, 2002, 170, no. 5a.
Wieseman, Marjorie E. “The Craeyvanger Portraits in Context—Shedding Light on Casper
Netscher’s Early Career.” Oud Holland 127, no. 1 (2014): 39, 47, n. 25.

VersionsEngraved
1. Chevalier after Gerard ter Borch, Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier , 1834, engraving(published in A. Cunningham, Cabinet Gallery of Pictures by the First Masters of English
and Foreign Schools [London, 1836], 2:87, no. 17). Described as being in the collection ofMr. Artis. The proportions of the print are closer to this painting than to Version 2.

Versions and Copies
1. Gerard ter Borch, Sleeping Soldier, ca. 1656–57, oil on canvas, 63.5 x 55 cm, The TaftMuseum, Cincinnati, inv. no. 1931.398.

2. Gerard ter Borch and Caspar Netscher, Sleeping Soldier, ca. 1658, oil on panel, 68.5 x 58
cm, formerly Louis and Mildred Kaplan Collection, New York, 1950. Jointly signed by Ter
Borch and Netscher on the letter held by the woman.

3. After Gerard ter Borch, Sleeping Soldier, oil on canvas, 71 x 60 cm, formerly Friedrich,Basel. As possibly by Netscher. Sturla J. Gudlaugsson, Geraert ter Borch, 2 vols. (TheHague, 1959–60), 2:134–35, no. 121d; Marjorie E. Wieseman, Caspar Netscher and Late
Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting (Doornspijk, 2002), 170, no. 5c.

4. After Gerard ter Borch, Sleeping Soldier, oil on canvas, 70.4 x 60.2 cm, sale, Christie’s, NewYork, 3 June 1998, no. 94 (as “Manner of Gerard ter Borch”).

5. Workshop of Gerard ter Borch, A Letter to a Sleeping Soldier , oil on canvas, 70.5 x 60.4 cm,
Kadriorg Art Museum (Art Museum of Estonia), Tallinn, inv. no. VM 12. Sturla J.
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Lady Tickling a Sleeping Soldier
Page 10 of 10Gudlaugsson, Geraert ter Borch, 2 vols. (The Hague, 1959–60), 2:134, no. 121c, as copy
with variations of Cincinnati painting; Marjorie E. Wieseman, Caspar Netscher and Late
Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting (Doornspijk, 2002), 170, no. 5b.

Versions Notes

Technical Summary
The support is a single piece of medium-weight, plain-weave fabric with tacking margins
removed, which has been lined. Cusping along all four edges indicates the support’s dimensions
have not been significantly altered. There are no wax collection seals, stencils, import stamps, orlabels along the lining or stretcher reverse.
A ground has been thinly and evenly applied. Although there is no indication of the ground color,the painting has the distinct feel of one executed on a dark-colored ground. The paint has been
applied with no noticeable brushstrokes, but in certain fabrics, short hatched strokes have beenused to depict texture.
The painting is unsigned and undated.
No underdrawing is readily apparent in infrared images captured at 720 nanometers, althoughcompositional lines may be located along the door along the right side of the composition. No
compositional changes are noted in the images, in the X-radiograph, or as pentimenti.
The painting was cleaned, lined, and restored in 2005 and remains in a good state ofpreservation.[1]Technical Summary Endnotes

1. Entry based on 2012 examination report by Jevon Thistlewood, paintings conservator,
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.

© 2017 The Leiden Collection