Gerard ter Borch has long been regarded by scholars as a pivotal figure in the history of Dutch painting. The Music Lesson in Toledo (Plate 7), mentioned in Chapter One, illustrates the novel elements that Ter Borch introduced to Dutch genre painting in the mid-seventeenth century. Three figures are shown gathered around a velvet-covered table. A young man, clad in an officer's costume, sits on the left and plays the lute. Facing him is a young woman, who is also holding a lute and reaching out to turn the page in a book of music. Standing behind the table and leaning on a chair is a third figure, a young man who looks wistfully down in the direction of the officer. The setting is spacious but simple, with only a few items of furniture, classicizing molding on the wall on the right, and a couple of picture frames on the distant back wall to suggest an affluent domestic setting. The spare background helps focus the viewer's gaze on the triangular group of foreground figures, with Ter Borch not only rendering their facial expressions and body language with care, but also lavishing attention on their costumes. The artist uses short, tiny strokes of light-colored paint to simulate the shimmering silver embroidery on the seated man's sleeves and collar, which contrasts with the heavy wool of his brown vest. The focus, however, is the female figure. Here Ter Borch demonstrates his masterful description of textures: the smoothness of the figure's skin, the velvety sheen of the gold jacket, and the softness of the fur trim are meticulously differentiated. Ter Borch's trademark, the gleaming satin skirt, is here depicted in crisp detail against the dark ground.

Compared to the boisterous depictions of the young idle rich popular in the 1620s and 1630s, such as the Merry Company by Willem Buytewech in Berlin (c. 1622–24; Fig. 21), Ter Borch's Music Lesson creates a far different emotional tone. In contrast to the theatrical gestures of the figures in Buytewech's painting, the body language of Ter Borch's figures is understated. The female figure at the center of Buytewech's composition, for example, appears to be sitting on her companion's lap, as they hold hands and lean towards one another.