Clara Peeters

1584 – 1657

An important Flemish woman painter, who introduced the Dutch type of "Breakfast Piece" into Antwerp at a very early date. She was born in Antwerp but later moved to Amsterdam (in 1612) and The Hague (in 1617). She must have been precocious, as she signed and dated a painting in 1608 (private collection); others dated 1611 and 1612 are in Madrid (Prado) and Karlsruhe. The Prado picture and one in Oxford (Ashmolean) have self-portraits as reflections on pewter vessels. A classification of signed works is difficult as she seems to have taken over Osias Beert 's objects. Like Beert, she would avoid overlapping objects and line up additive groups of fruits, nuts, confectionary, baked items in the shape of letters, costly jugs and embossed goblets. She is said to have dated a painting (now lost) 1657, and this is the last record of her. The date and place of her death is not known.

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