Clara Peeters: The 17th-Century Still-Life Queen Who Snuck Into Her Own Paintings
In a world where men dominated the brush and the canvas, Clara Peeters managed to do something revolutionary: she painted food, luxury, and herself, and made people stop and stare.
She was the original “Instagram foodie”, only her feed was painted in oil and filled with lavish breakfasts, shiny goblets, exotic cheeses, and delicate pewter dishes. But these weren’t just aesthetic arrangements. They were riddled with clues, secrets, and even her tiny self-portraits, slyly hidden in the reflections of polished metal. Move over, modern selfies. Clara was way ahead of the game.
Let’s get to know the artist who transformed the quiet, overlooked still-life genre into a stage for wit, skill, and self-expression.
1. Who Was Clara Peeters, Really?
That’s the tricky part. Not much is known about Clara’s life, which is ironic considering how much she put herself into her work. She was likely born in Antwerp between 1588 and 1590. Scholars believe she trained in the artistic hub of the Southern Netherlands, likely under a male relative or teacher, since formal art academies were closed to women.
Despite these limitations, by the age of just 14, she had signed her first known painting: Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels (1607). That’s right—teenage Clara was already mastering perspective, texture, and symbolism while most girls her age were learning embroidery.
Her works are dated between 1607 and 1621, with some appearing in Amsterdam, The Hague, and possibly Madrid. But her legacy doesn’t rest in biography. It lives in the gleaming surfaces of her art.
2. Painting as a Performance of Power
Still-life painting might sound humble. But in the 17th century, it was a coded language of wealth, morality, and mortality. A goblet wasn’t just a goblet; it was a symbol of transience, prosperity, or divine reflection.
Clara Peeters brought this to life with razor-sharp precision. Her compositions are like treasure hunts: look closely, and you’ll find snails, butterflies, engraved knives, and tiny reflected portraits of the artist herself, peeking out from the curves of a wine vessel or the side of a tankard.
“She gave new meaning to the phrase ‘if you look closely…”
An admiring curator, probably
And she wasn’t just painting for herself. Clara often signed her name, engraved, on objects such as knives or rims of silver plates. A flex, if there ever was one. She turned ordinary table settings into showcases of technical mastery and personal branding.
3. Famous Paintings (and Where to See Them Today)
Clara Peeters may have been modest in life, but her works now hang in world-class museums. Here are some of her best-known paintings, and where to find them:
- “Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels” (c. 1615)
Mauritshuis, The Hague
A visual buffet complete with textured cheeses, nuts, and a hidden self-portrait in a pewter lid. A masterpiece of appetite and technique.
- “Still Life with Flowers, Goblet, Dried Fruit and Pretzels” (1611)
Museo del Prado, Madrid
One of several works in Spain’s national collection—this one showcases a gleaming goblet, delicate blooms, and a whisper of the artist reflected in silver.
- “Still Life with Fish and Cat” (1620)
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
A humorous and slightly chaotic piece with a hungry cat eyeing a dinner of fish—because life (and art) is not always calm and collected.
- “Fish still life with a flower bouquet” (c. 1611)
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
A shining example of how Peeters balanced luxury with domesticity—rich textures and clever reflections, all balanced in harmony.
- “Still life with flowers and gilt goblets” (1614)
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe - Clara elevates sugar, bread, and delicate pastries into an almost spiritual experience, reminding us that simplicity can be exquisite.
In Clara’s time, women were rarely allowed to paint large historical or religious scenes. Still-life was one of the few genres considered “acceptable” for women, because it was “domestic.” But Clara turned that limitation into her strength. She elevated still life to an art of intelligence, illusion, and presence.
She didn’t just paint for display. She created conversations on canvas about wealth, death, femininity, and identity. Her objects reflect her worldview, and perhaps her resistance.
And what about those self-portraits hidden in reflections? They weren’t just fun visual tricks. They were statements. She was saying:
“I am here. I created this. You can see me, if you care to look.”
5. Forgotten, Then Rediscovered
Like many female artists, Clara Peeters was forgotten after her death. Her work was often misattributed or simply ignored. But in the last few decades, art historians have done the detective work—and the results are stunning.
In 2016, the Prado Museum in Madrid held its first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to a female painter—and guess who it was? That’s right: Clara Peeters. It was titled “The Art of Clara Peeters”, and it celebrated her as a pioneer of still life and a woman who broke the rules with grace and genius.
6. Why Clara Still Matters
In a time when women were seen and not heard, Clara Peeters painted herself into her own narrative—literally. Her still lifes are not just pretty arrangements of food and finery. They are assertions of self, evidence of skill, and reflections of a world filtered through a female gaze.
She reminds us that the overlooked genres—like still life, craft, and domesticity, can be powerful, layered, and deeply political. Clara’s art asks us: what do we see when we look at the ordinary? And who gets to decide what is “important” enough to paint?
Final Thoughts: The Woman Behind the Goblet
Clara Peeters never shouted for attention. Instead, she engraved her name quietly into silver, snuck her face into reflections, and let her work speak with shimmering confidence.
Today, her paintings hang proudly in museums once closed to women like her. Her legacy lives in the glint of light on a metal cup, in the soft shadow under a peach, and in the delicate, daring decision to include herself—again and again.
“She didn’t just paint what she saw. She painted where she stood.”
— A 21st-century admirer (and probably you, after reading this)
So next time you see a glimmer on a goblet in a painting, lean in close. It might just be Clara Peeters, winking back at you.
Coming Next: Elisabetta Sirani: The Baroque Superstar Who Ran an All-Female Art Studio in 17th-Century Bologna
I invite you to explore my paintings, layered, searching, and shaped by the same questions I ask of the artists I study. Visit My Gallery Art.
