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Description: | Famous for the stage sets he designed for the Amsterdam city theatre, de Lairesse was a classical popular painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He often used architecture as a structural element in his compositions to suggest pictorial depth and groups of people are usually seen divided over various levels within it. In the 1680s he simplified his compositions by isolating groups of strongly modelled figures against architectural backgrounds. Subtle colour arrangements combined with his decorative talent brought him commissions for many decorative schemes defined by a classical style which is obvious in this work. It is possible that this work may have been a part of such a scheme. The frieze-like composition owes a debt to French classical painting, and the scale of this work responds more to the French pictures of the time than to more modest Dutch pictures. There is a similar subject by this artist entitled Les Fiançailles de Jacob et de Rachel at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne. The subject is drawn from the Old Testament book of Genesis and depicts the first meeting of Rachel with Jacob at the Well of Haran. | Subjects: | Jacob) religion (Rachel | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Lairesse, Gerard de (Flemish painter, printmaker, and draftsman, 1640-1711) Æ | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8750... | Go to resource |
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