SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Gérard de Lairesse (1641–1711), painter and printmaker, first received artistic training from his father, then continued his studies with Bertholet Flémal from 1655. In 1660, he received his first commissions from Maximilien-Henri, Prince-Bishop of Liège. For Aachen Cathedral, he painted a Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, a work that the entry places today in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen. The entry presents him in the 1670s as one of the most popular painters in the northern Netherlands.
His repertoire consists mainly of allegorical, biblical and mythological scenes; his style is characterised as classical, and his work contributes to the spread of French taste in the Netherlands. Among the groups of works that exemplify this is The Triumph of Æmilius Paullus Macedonius, comprising eight grisaille paintings designed to imitate bas-reliefs; they are now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Allegory of the Peace of Münster consists of three paintings intended for the ceiling of Andries de Graeff’s house. They are now held at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
After becoming completely blind, Lairesse gave lessons in a house on Spinhuissteeg. His writings include Grondlegginge der teekenkonst, devoted to drawing and published in 1701. Het Groot schilderboek, illustrated with engravings, appeared in two parts in Amsterdam in 1707.
This profile brings together identity references for Gerard de Lairesse and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Genève Enchères
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
encre et craie sur papier
Catalogue period : 2025-09-22
Published result : 1700 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 800–1200
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Profile updated :
Recently enriched profiles
Pino Pinelli, born in Catania in 1938 and deceased in Milan in 2024, made the painted surface a field of experimentation. Settling in Milan in 1963, he participated in the investigat…
4 auction referencesVojislav Jakic, born in Macedonia in 1932 and deceased in 2003, worked mainly in Serbia. From 1970, his drawings assumed considerable dimensions, with some scrolls exceeding fifty me…
2 auction referencesSérvulo Esmeraldo, born in Crato in 1929 and deceased in Fortaleza in 2017, combined printmaking, drawing and sculpture in an exploration of line and geometry. After beginnings in wo…
1 auction reference