The Hands Behind De Lairesse’s Masterpieces: Gerard de Lairesse’s workshop practice

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.