The author, son of a tulip grower and scientist in the field of paint and industrial coatings, has been collecting tulip paintings for many years. With a very sharp analytical mind he has also been studying the paints used by the artists who painted the tulip and he has arrived at a surprising research results which are the bases of this book.
Willemse has come to the conclusion that many of the drawings and paintings done in the 17th & 18th century have been wrongly attributed and dated and that it is plausible that "The Tulip Painter" (whom ever it was) is either Maria Sibylla Merian with her daughters Johanna Helena Herolt-Graff and Dorothea Maria Merian, or a member of the Van der Vinne family, or another artist from the Agnes Block school.
The book is extensively illustrated and gives much insight into these remarkable drawings and paintings.