Chris Lanooy was a ceramist, glass artist and painter and an exponent of the fin-de-siècle Art Nouveau movement that sought a renewal of the visual and decorative arts. After completing his training at the art academy in The Hague, Lanooy specialised in painting still lifes, working at the potteries in Rozenburg and Gouda, amongst others. He also designed 'unica' (one-off) glass works at Leerdam and damask patterns for the Van Dissel and Visser mills. Sea creatures, plants and butterflies are dominant motifs in his paintings.