Clara Peeters

In the 17th century, the Baroque was at its height in Antwerp. Prominent figures, such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck,were the exponents of that opulent period, but Clara Peeters, the Still-Life Queen, also belongs in that list. She lived and worked in Antwerp and was probably an apprentice of Osias Beert, a well-known still-life painter.    

But Clara Peeters was much more than that. She very quickly became a pioneer in the development of still life as a genre. She brought everyday objects to life like no other. She started out cautiously by creating small, detailed scenes of food and drink and those works already displayed her tremendous skill. Sometime later, her still lifes evolved into more lavish compositions with valuable objects such as decorated metal cups, gold coins and exotic flowers.    

Later on in her career, she painted elaborate banquet scenes with colourful bouquets of flowers, soft bread, slippery fish, gleaming porcelain and reflective glass. A feature that was very typical of Clara Peeters’ work is that she often adds a miniature self-portrait to the picture, for example in the reflection of a jug.