A painting by Clara Peeters, a pioneering 17th-century Flemish Baroque artist, was recently discovered by art historian and curator Cynthia Osiecki in an Oslo museum storage room in 2022. Osiecki had been researching Peeters’ works and suspected the unattributed still-life painting she found might be a lost piece by the artist.
This discovery is significant as Clara Peeters, despite her groundbreaking contributions, remains relatively obscure in art history, a common fate for many female artists of her time. The National Museum of Norway is shedding light on historic female artists, including Peeters, through the upcoming exhibition “Woman Painter,” showcasing works by 19 female artists from 1550 to 1650.
The painting, titled “Still Life with Small Game and Grapes on a Gilded Tazza,” was initially thought to be by Ambrosius Brueghel but was reattributed to Peeters after a meticulous process spanning several years. Osiecki’s keen eye and attention to detail, such as Peeters’ trademark inclusion of self-portraits in her works, played a crucial role in the attribution process.
Despite challenges like woodworm damage obscuring Peeters’ signature, thorough analysis and comparison of Peeters’ other works confirmed her authorship of the discovered painting. The piece will now be prominently featured in the upcoming exhibition, highlighting the importance of recognizing and celebrating female artists like Peeters whose contributions have been overlooked or misattributed in art history.