Bonaventura I Peeters

1614 – 1652

Flemish marine painter and satirical poet. He was virtually the only noteworthy practitioner in the genre in his country, seascapes being much more a Dutch than a Flemish speciality. In his early works Peeters was influenced by Dutch masters such as Simon de Vlieger, but later he tended to introduce elaborate motifs and bright colour in a decorative vein less impressive than his earlier style. Peeters became a master of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1634. Various other members of the family were artists, including his sister Catharina (1615-76), a seascape and still-life painter, and the brothers Jan and Gillis, but Clara Peeters, an outstanding Antwerp still-life painter was no relation. In 1639 he painted a picture of the Siege of Calloo (with his brother Gillis) for the municipal authorities at Antwerp. He spent the last years of his life in Hoboken, together with his sister Catharina, who collaborated with him, and his brother and pupil Jan Peeters.

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