Issues of the technology and the painting technique of Gerard de Lairesse based on the treatise on the painting “Het Groot Schilderboek”

Abstract

Treatise Het Groot Schilderboek (“The Great Book on Painting”) of Gerard de Lairesse (1640–1711) belongs to important works which apart from theoretical issues include relevant information concerning painting technique. In the 17th and 18th century theoretical papers on the painting enjoyed great interest in the whole of Europe. The treatise by de Lairesse was well-known also amongst the artists active in Gdańsk, Toruń, and Elbląg in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Up to the 18th century artists in Poland-Lithuania received their professional training within the framework of a guild system. The system of learning required copying of the famous ancient and modern works from prints. In Gdańsk and Toruń the works by de Lairesse enjoyed considerable popularity and were often copied. Given the significance of the work of the Dutch artist in Royal Prussia a project was initiated to recreate the painting technique described in his treatise. A copy of a painting by the artist was made fallowing available literature and an in-depth study of the treatise itself. The aim was to recreate in a practical way the technical details of the old workshop practice. The results of the analyses and of technological reconstructions can be used in conservation practice as well as in artistic activity.