Artist

Clara Peeters

Still Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries

• Clara Peeters (Flemish, 1594 – c.1657)
• Oil on wood, 33.34 x 46.67 cm
• 1625
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter (M.2003.108.8)

Learn more about Peeters’ painting Still Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries: Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Still Life with Flowers Surrounded by Insects and a Snail

• Clara Peeters (Flemish, 1594 – c.1657)
• Oil on copper, 16.6 x 13.5 cm
• c. 1610
• National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Learn more about Peeters’ painting Still Life with Flowers Surrounded by Insects and a Snail: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

A Bouquet of Flowers

• Clara Peeters (Flemish, 1594–c.1640)
• Oil on wood, 18-1/8 x 12-5/8 in. (46 x 32 cm)
• c. 1612

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Learn more about Peeters’ painting A Bouquet of Flowers: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

The Artist

The only Flemish woman known to have specialized in still life painting as early as the first decade of the seventeenth century, Clara Peeters is a pioneer among female Old Masters. Though not much is known about Peeters’ life, she is prominent among the artists who shaped the traditions of the Flemish/Dutch ontbijtjes, “breakfast pieces” and banketje, “banquet pieces.” Her early work frequently includes miniature self-portraits within the reflections she painted.

As of December 2019, a painting by this artist—Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels, c. 1615—is included in the CODART Canon as one of 100 Dutch/Flemish masterpieces (as voted on by CODART curator-members).

Current and past exhibitions featuring Clara Peeters:

Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400–1800 at the Art Gallery of Ontario from March 30–July 1, 2024. The show was on previously (October 1, 2023–January 7, 2024) at the Baltimore Museum of Art. 

Maestras: Women Artists at Arp Museum from February 25–June 16, 2024. The exhibition was previously hosted (October 31, 2023–February 4, 2024) at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.

Read more online about Clara Peeters at:

The Art Herstory blog:

 A Clara Peeters for the Mauritshuis, by Quentin Buvelot

A Space of Their Own: Explore >

The National Museum of Women in the Arts: Explore >

SpanishArts.com: Explore >

Google Arts & Culture: Explore >