In a surprising turn of events, a painting by Clara Peeters, a renowned 17th-century Flemish Baroque artist, was recently discovered in a storage room at an Oslo museum. Cynthia Osiecki, an art historian and curator, stumbled upon the unattributed still-life painting and suspected it could be a lost work by Peeters.
Osiecki expressed astonishment at the possibility of having a Clara Peeters painting in their possession without even realizing it while actively seeking to acquire works by female artists. Despite Peeters’ significant contributions to art history, she remains relatively obscure to the general public, a common fate shared by many female artists of her time.
The National Museum of Norway is shining a spotlight on historic female artists with the upcoming exhibition, “Woman Painter,” featuring works by 19 female artists from northern Europe and Italy, including Peeters. The newfound painting, titled “Still Life with Small Game and Grapes on a Gilded Tazza,” was previously misattributed to Ambrosius Brueghel before being officially reattributed to Peeters after a meticulous multi-year process led by Osiecki.
Peeters was known for incorporating subtle self-portraits into her works, symbolizing her professional identity in a male-dominated art world. The painting discovered in Oslo showcases nine dead birds, hazelnuts, apricots, and distinctive elements characteristic of Peeters’ style. Despite challenges like woodworm damage obscuring the signature, thorough research and analysis confirmed Peeters as the true artist.
The journey to rediscover Peeters’ work underscores the importance of unearthing overlooked female artists and rectifying historical misattributions. Osiecki emphasized the significance of continued research to uncover more works by women artists, shedding light on their invaluable contributions to art history.
