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The Hands Behind Lairesse’s Masterpieces: Gerard de Lairesse’s Workshop Practice

2020; Volume: 12; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5092/jhna.12.1.4

2473-1404

Weixuan Li,

Historical and Literary Studies

Gerard de Lairesse produced an astonishing number of paintings during his active years in Amsterdam from 1665 to 1689.Given his numerous pupils, known through biographers, one may wonder to what extent De Lairesse's masterpieces are collective undertakings.This essay proposes a new approach to studying workshop practice in the seventeenth century through a combination of quantitative analysis and biographical research.This essay visualizes the overall trend of the artist's painting production and situates the pupils' training periods in the master's career timeline.The analysis shows that De Lairesse's painting production fluctuates with the change of the quantity and quality of pupils present in his workshop.This essay further reveals the workshop's participation in large-scale commissions for decorative paintings, which also explains why and when the master had more time for making collector's paintings by himself.The Hands Behind Lairesse's Masterpieces: Gerard de Lairesse's Workshop Practice Weixuan Li 1"If we, painters, need an assistant, then it is not to show what such a person is able to do to enhance his own fame or honor, but to help execute the work of the inventor or first master according to the latter's approval . . . in such a way that the whole piece not only acquires a general welstand, but, and that is more important, seems to be painted by one hand." 1 Thus Gerard de Lairesse instructed his fellow master painters in his Groot Schilderboek, after having had a prolific career as a painter himself in Amsterdam between 1665 and 1689.He even warned the reader that when an assistant fails his instructions, "the dignity and gracefulness of a beautiful composition is ruined, yes, destroyed, and thus provokes scorn and ridicule of connoisseurs." 2 It is no wonder that it has always been difficult to discern other hands in a masterpiece, especially when, as in the case of Lairesse, the traces of various hands were intentionally concealed.Given the difficulty of detecting the hidden touches of different hands on canvas, this essay introduces a novel approach to acquiring insight into workshop practices.By identifying the concurrence of the variations in Lairesse's workload and the periods when capable pupils were present in his workshop, this study adds a layer of quantitative analysis to art historical research.