Clara Peeters

Clara Peeters (baptized May 15, 1594, Antwerp, Belgium—died after 1657?) was a Flemish still-life painter known for her meticulous brushwork, sophisticated arrangement of materials, low angle of perspective, and ability to capture precisely the textures of the varied objects she painted. She was a significant popularizer of so-called banquet (or breakfast) pieces—i.e., sumptuous displays of goblets, ceramic vessels, tableware, food and drink, and flowers. As one of the only female Flemish artists who exclusively painted still lifes in the 17th century, she was also one of the first known artists to incorporate self-portraiture into still-life paintings.

Although Peeters was an influential figure during her epoch, very little is known for certain about her life. Even the dates given for major events in the artist’s life, such as baptism and marriage, are not clearly associated with Clara Peeters the artist. She is thought to have been baptized in 1594 and to have married in 1639, both events taking place in Antwerp. At some points in her career, she may have resided in both Amsterdam and The Hague. However, there is no mention of her in the existing records of the Antwerp painters’ guild, which makes a reliable chronology of her life difficult to compile.

It is known, however, that her earliest dated oil paintings were completed during the years 1607 and 1608. These small-scale compositions included foods and drinks that were depicted from a low vantage point. The subject matter, perspective, and composition of her early paintings set the foundation and tone for her future work. An analysis of those works makes it clear that she was well trained by a master technician of oil painting. Some scholars suggest that her teacher may have been Osias Beert, a renowned still-life painter from Antwerp, although their association is not recorded.

Even at that early stage in her career, it is evident that she possessed the talent to distinguish herself from other painters of still lifes. A few years later Peeters’s fastidious brushstrokes would be further developed with the production of a series of paintings, including Still Life with Fish, a Candle, Artichokes, Crab, and Prawns (1611). The well-known painting—which depicts recently caught fish, shrimp, and crabs, among other items on a banquet table—showcases the artist’s meticulous and painstaking technique. Every scale on the fish is rendered in a highly detailed manner. Peeters also carried out this technique to render valuable objects used to ornament those banquet tables.

The valuable objects, which were usually polished vases and goblets, also served as the centerpiece for another important innovation: self-portraiture in still life. One such example of this avant-garde technique is Still Life of Flowers, a Silver-Gilt Goblet, Dried Fruit, Sweetmeats, Bread Sticks, Wine and a Pewter Pitcher (1611), in which a somewhat distorted reflection of the painting artist is incorporated into the polished surfaces of a gilt-adorned goblet and pitcher. With this work, Peeters became one of the first artists to incorporate self-portraiture into her still lifes. This innovative element soon permeated the art world, and it came to be associated with the works of other Flemish artists of the 17th century who were influenced by her work.

Although Peeters was one of the only female artists of the 17th century to specialize in still-life painting, her distinction was due less to her focus on one genre than her complete mastery of it. The painter’s influential techniques and ideas were promulgated throughout what is now the Netherlands and Germany. Consequently, those who adopted Peeters’s style are considered to be members of her small, but prominent, artistic school, called by some scholars the “circle of Peeters.”