The coarse painter and his position in 17th- and 18th-century Dutch decorative painting

In modern studies of Dutch art, the makers of decorative paintings in the 17th and 18th centuries are usually referred to as ‘decorative painters’ or ‘interior painters’, as if this was a profession in its own right. However, neither name existed at the time. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the painter’s trade - defined in the regulations of the Guild of St Luke - encompassed two separate and independent groups: the artist painters and the coarse painters. Because the best-known ‘decorative painters’ were also recognised artist painters, in art history the painting of decorations has come to be regarded as primarily their work. Archival research, however, has revealed that it was not unusual for a painted decoration to be the result of close collaboration between artist painters and coarse painters. In some cases a highly complex decoration actually proves to have been made by a coarse painter working alone. This will be demonstrated by reference to a painted chamber in Almelo dated 1778. Technical research has shown that all the painted work was executed by a coarse painter.