Portrait of Jacob de Graeff (1642-90), in the uniform of an officer

Ter Borch's portrait of Jacob de Graeff in military officer's uniform from around 1673 depicts a member of one of Amsterdam's most powerful patrician families in the martial guise appropriate to his role in the Amsterdam civic guard. The De Graeff family occupied senior positions in Amsterdam's government throughout the seventeenth century, and multiple family members sat to ter Borch, establishing a sustained relationship between the painter and the patrician networks of Amsterdam's ruling elite. The officer's uniform—armor or elaborate martial costume—provided an opportunity for demonstrating wealth and civic commitment simultaneously, and ter Borch's rendering of the metallic surfaces of armor and the rich fabric of military dress demonstrated the same technical virtuosity he brought to the silk and satin of his female portraits. The portrait belongs to his late career when he was the established portraitist of the Dutch governing class.

The military costume provides visual richness through its varied fabrics, metalwork, and insignia. Ter Borch's precise rendering of these military details creates a portrait that conveys both martial authority and social distinction.