National Floral Design Day

Peeters' work carried on the great tradition of observed realism established by the early Flemish Renaissance painters Jan van Eyck (1390–1441) and Rogier van der Weyden (1399/1400–1464). Both artists expertly added meticulously detailed everyday objects in their religious works. Van Eyck is thought to have influenced Peeters' work the most, particularly in Peeters attention to the detail of reflections on shiny surfaces, specialty of van Eyck.

National Floral Design Day, 28 February: Art by Clara Peeters (ca. 1594-before 1657 Flanders)

Clara Peeters probably did not go to a florist for this bouquet she painted, but the painting certainly reveals her skill at painting all sorts of flowers.

Bouquet of Flowers, ca. 1612, oil on wood panel, 46 x 32 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, public domain image (8s-30654)

Peeters expertly depicted elements of decay such as bug bites and drooping tulips that remind the viewer -- even with this abundance of worldly beauty -- about transience of life, a vanitas (vanity) concept.

Peeters pioneered the trompe l'oeil (fool the eye) technique of objects projecting "beyond" the picture plane illusionistically in the foreground. Works such as this are closely linked with the Baroque fervor for scientifically accurate botanical illustration. She asserts her own achievements by inscribing her signature on the stone ledge contrasting with fallen forget-me-nots.

In the West, between the 1400s and 1700s, little changed in the education of women as artists. Women with the drive to be artists had to train with male relatives who were established artists. They were denied membership in the guilds that ensured patronage to artists. In spite of these restrictions, however, some women managed to become widely-respected artists.

Because women were denied apprenticeships with non-family member artists, their body of work was limited to what a male relative taught them. This often meant that they would repeat the specialty of that relative, be it in still life, portraiture, or genre painting, all considered inferior subject matter to religious or history subjects by the established artists' guilds.

The Renaissance (ca. 1400–1600) Humanism (interest in humanities and learning), meant that education opportunities broadened for women. Although it did not ensure that they could join the artists' guilds, it did encourage many women to learn about art and want to become artists.

Clara Peeters is considered one of the earliest women still life painters, and an important artist in the establishment of the genre in Europe. Although still life compositions had existed since the ancient world, it was not considered suitable stand-alone subject matter until during the Renaissance, when realistic depictions of groups of objects were used as symbols for religious ideas. After the Protestant Reformation (early 1500s), which frowned on religious idolatry in art, the genre came into its own. Peeters style is thought to have defined the look of still life painting in northern Europe.

Little is known about Peeters other than that she was born and worked in Antwerp, Flanders (now Belgium). As a young person, she was highly respected for her drawing ability. She is thought to have been producing paintings for patrons at as young as age 17. More works are attributed to Peeters than any of the other known women artists working at the time, because of her habit of signing and dating most of her works. Although her teacher(s) is/are unknown, she mastered how to delineate form clearly with precise drawing, and understood how to depict reflected light on surfaces.