Description
In 1675 Gerard de Lairesse was the most sought-after painter of Amsterdam. His inventions were coveted not only by all-powerful Amsterdam Regent elites, but also French and German collectors of title. It should therefore come as no surprise that De Lairesse decided to catalog and embalm his entire painted oeuvre in an album of prints, for which he made the engravings himself. This album was, rather immodestly, entitled the Opus Elegantissimum. The first out of four original editions was published by Nicolaes Visscher, whilst Gerard Valck was responsible for the second and the third one. The fourth edition bore the name of a lesser known publisher, P. or L. Schenk. Later versions of the album were adjusted and included prints after De Lairesse’s compositions made by his numerous colleagues and apprentices.There are very few artists in art history to have recorded their oeuvre in print. However, and in spite of its indisputable singularity, De Lairesse’s Opus Elegantissimum has remained under researched to this day. It is safe to assume that the main culprit for this is Théophile Thoré-Bürger (1807-1869) and his many Dutch epigones, whose goal was to purge Dutch art of the Golden Age of unwanted foreign influences. Not Dutch enough, or sufficiently French, Gerard de Lairesse has been effectively marginalised since the publication of Thoré’s Musées de la Hollande in the mid-19th century. I light of recent research aimed at reassessing the place of this largely forgotten artist in Dutch art history, my contribution to this conference is going to investigate into the function, importance, and dissemination of De Lairesse’s unique artistic endeavour.
| Period | 21 Oct 2019 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Beyond Boundaries: Conceptualizing Netherlandish prints |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Belgrade, SerbiaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |