Gerard de Lairesse wrote many of the philosophies that Dutch painters followed and established the three most noted pointers that artists should use to create a good painting.

Number 1

All flowers should appear in their best form and they should not be misshapen, and also they should always appear in their natural state. For example, roses are round and should appear that way in a composition.

Number 2

The painting must have good arrangement and harmony of objects. In other words, Lairesse felt that the rose is the most regal and royal of all flower forms and should not be positioned so that it has to compete with other blooms. Any flower with more petals should not be placed next to the rose – I violated this once with a seminar piece many years ago. I had put a chrysanthemum next to a rose in the centre of interest and every student in the class had difficulty painting the chrysanthemum. I now feel that it kept distracting attention from the rose, which made everything we did to it look incorrect.

Number 3

Lairesse believed in a soft brush of excellent quality which allowed you to do great detail but would leave the surface without brushstrokes. The Dutch, unlike the French tole and tapestry painters who followed, didn’t like the look of strokes in any of their flowers. Smoothness on the surface was essential to their beauty. Later this view was challenged and only then did change and new styles happen.

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