Clara Peeters

Details of Peeters' life are unclear. It is generally agreed by scholars that her work points to her being a native of Antwerp. The city of Antwerp's archives hold a record of a Clara Peeters, daughter of Jean (Jan) Peeters, baptized on 15 May 1594 in the Church of St. Walburga in Antwerp. A second document indicates a marriage between a Clara Peeters and Henricus Joosen on 31 May 1639, in the same church. However, both Clara and especially Peeters were common names in Antwerp. A baptism in 1594 would imply that her 1607-dated paintings were done when she was 12 or 13. Some scholars doubt that those early works could have been done by one so young and have posited that she was born in the 1580s. Peeters was established in Amsterdam by 1611 and documented in The Hague in 1617. Some have suggested that in light of there not being any evident work by Peeters after 1621, she ceased painting after getting married, as for example Judith Leyster effectively did. Because of the number of apparent copies of her work by various hands, some speculate that she may have headed a small school of artists. No record indicating Peeters' date of death has been found; however, scholars speculate various dates: in or after 1621; after 1654; after 1657; 1659 and 1676. == Training ==

Peeters' first-known painting, signed and dated 1607, reflects the technical and compositional skill of a trained artist. She has also been linked to Antwerp artists Hans van Essen and Jan van der Beeck. Jan Bruegel the Elder has also been suggested as a possible teacher. Although she was not in its records, at least one painting of Peeters bears the stamp of the Antwerp Guild on its back, indicating she may indeed have been a member, or at least worked on panels made by members of the Antwerp Guild. ==Work==

Peeters signed thirty-one works "CLARA PEETERS" or "CLARA P.", and dated many of them, which leaves a strong record of her work from 1607 to 1621. Peeters was among the earliest specialist painters of still lifes and flowers, Her paintings of fish and game of 1611 appear well before other artists used similar subject matter. Scholars speculate, based on the continual use of the same motifs and differing quality of work in some of her paintings, that Peeters may have run her own workshop and tasked her students with painting these repetitive motifs. == Patrons ==

Although no record of patrons is available, it appears Peeters was a successful artist. Many aspects of her paintings suggest that her paintings would have been created for wealthy collectors, as they are particularly large and depict luxury items of the era. Four of Peeter's early works came to the Prado from the Spanish royal collection, and one is found listed in a collection from 1627, while another is listed in a document of a notary in 1628. ==Works==

File:Mesa (Clara Peeters).jpg|Table with Orange, Olives and Pie, probably 1611, with the "signed knife", from the Prado set File:Clara Peeters - Bodegón (Prado) 01.jpg|1611, from the Prado set. Arguably the first still-life of dead game birds. [https://rkd.nl/explore/images/195012 File:WLA lacma Clara Peeters still life.jpg|Still Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries, 1612–1618 File:Clara Peeters - Still Life with Crab, Shrimps and Lobster - Google Art Project.jpg|Still Life with Crab, Shrimps and Lobster, unattributed painting in the style of Clara Peeters, 1630–39 [https://rkd.nl/explore/images/195221 File:Visstilleven met garnalen en rivierkreeftjes - Clara Peeters - Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen - 1 (cropped).jpg|Seafood still life with shrimp and crayfish, between circa 1612 and circa 1621, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp ==Notes==