ADAM EAKER: One of the things I love about this painting is that it shows us a very recognizably affectionate family, something you don’t always see in seventeenth-century depictions. The young mother who’s holding her child’s hand. The father who is trying to draw his wife’s attention to this expensive pocket watch and, at the same time, their coats of arms in the upper-left-hand corner. A much more ancient, archaic way of representing individuals.

NARRATOR: Along with the fashionable black clothing, a holdover from Spanish rule, Ter Borch uses the watch to announce social status. At the same time, the watch is also a reminder of mortality. These two ideas are also embodied in the star of the show: the first-born son.

ADAM EAKER: Clearly the spotlight here is on this chubby-cheeked young boy.

NARRATOR: Ter Borch positions the wife on the left, in the place of honor, acknowledging her elevated status as the mother of a surviving male heir.

ADAM EAKER: According to traditional hierarchies, women were always depicted on the right side of a painting when they were shown with their husband. Ter Borch has really upended those traditional hierarchies.

NARRATOR: The tender image is all the more poignant knowing that the father, the artist’s cousin, outlived both his first wife and his son.