Lot 52: Clara Peeters , active, probably in Antwerp, 1607 - in or after 1621 A still life of lilies, roses, iris, pansies, columbine, love-in-a-mist, larkspur and other flowers in a glass vase on a table top, flanked by a rose and a carnation oil on panel

signed lower left CLARA P. Inscribed on the reverse with a collector's inventory number: StK 1761 oil on panel

measurements note 19 1/4 by 13 3/8 in.; 50.2 by 34 cm.

Together with such artists as Jan Brueghel the Elder and Osias Beert, Clara Peeters was one of the most important contributors to the early development of Flemish floral still-life painting. The majority of her still lifes are displays of victuals and objects on a table top. Occasionally, these compositions include a bouquet of flowers, but sometimes she also depicted a number of individual bouquets in vases. Most of the individual bouquets in vases are rather simple arrangements; the floral bouquet discussed here, despite its modest format, is certainly the most lavish still life known to date. Clara Peeters was probably born in or near Antwerp, but no firm facts about her life are known. Her dated works range from 1607 to 1621. After Peeters' earliest known painting of 1607, her handling became more accomplished, while the viewpoint was lowered and, generally, her compositions became more complex. Given the similarities in handling of the details in the present work with her dated bouquets from 1611 and 1612, Fred Meijer suggests that it is not likely that this still life originated very much earlier, and notes that a date of circa 1610 seems the most plausible for this painting. By 1611, when she painted the group of four still lifes now in the Prado Museum, Madrid, she had fully matured as a painter. She had gained full mastery of textures, shapes, space and light. Although Clara Peeters's still lifes can be recognised immediately as belonging to the same time frame as those by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Osias Beert, they are also highly individual; she does not appear to have attempted to imitate any of her contemporaries, even though she was no doubt familiar with their works. We are grateful to Fred Meijer of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie in The Hague for confirming the attribution to Clara Peeters, based on firsthand inspection, and for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.