Celebrated and very influential theoretical manual on the art of painting by Gerard de Lairesse, in the second enlarged, and third overall, edition; now including a biography of the author by the painter Arnold Houbraken and an engraving by J.C. Philips of a self-portrait of De Lairesse. The author is also several times depicted on the richly designed frontispiece: in the foreground he is shown as a blind man (De Laraisse became blind), his hand guided by a naked woman; in the background the artist is seen as a young man painting, and on top De Lairesse is shown in a medallion as painter-laureate.
The Groot Schilderboek is a clear, practical, and beautifully illustrated work for students who want to learn everything about painting, drawing in perspective, and engraving. Divided in 13 books over 2 parts, the work treats all aspects of the art of painting. The first edition appeared in 1707 and a second in 1716. The fine and dated 19th-century prize binding for the The Teeken Academie (Drawing Academy) is probably made by a successor of the "Drawing Academy Bindery", active in Middelburg from 1787 to 1807. Each year, the board of the Academy handed out silver medals or suitable books to the best students.
The binding shows some slight signs of wear, the work has been re-backed, the edges of the leaves are slightly browned, and with a stain on p. 257. Otherwise in very good condition. Berlin Kat. 4626; Cat. Kunsthist. Bibl. Rijksm. Amst. I, 193; Kunst op Schrift 342, 343; STCN 154085073 (20 copies, incl. 3 incomplete); cf. for the binding: Goud en velijn. Middelburgse boekbanden van de 17de tot de 19de eeuw (Zeeuwse katernen 9, 1992), pp. 23-5 & 45-6; J. Storm van Leeuwen, Dutch decorated Bookbinding IIB, p. 550-1, 659, 684-90; Idem, 'Rondom een Middelburgse prijsband van 1828', in: De Boekenwereld 1/5 (1984/85), pp. 2-5.