Clara Peeters’ Hidden Masterpiece Unveiled in Museum’s Storage
In a surprising discovery, art historian and curator Cynthia Osiecki stumbled upon an unidentified still-life painting tucked away in an Oslo museum storeroom in 2022. Osiecki, who had been researching the works of Clara Peeters, a pioneering Flemish Baroque artist from the 17th century, was on the hunt for a piece by Peeters when she came across the painting. She speculated that this could potentially be a lost creation by Peeters.
Despite being a groundbreaking artist, Peeters remains relatively obscure to the public, much like many female artists of her time, according to Osiecki. To highlight historic female artists, the National Museum of Norway will showcase the “Woman Painter” exhibition in Oslo starting on Oct. 8, featuring works by 19 female artists, including Peeters, Judith Leyster, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemisia Gentileschi.
The painting, originally thought to be by Ambrosius Brueghel, a member of a renowned artist family in Antwerp, Belgium, was later classified as “anonymous” and stored away. After years of meticulous research, Osiecki officially attributed the piece to Peeters, noting distinctive elements in the artwork that aligned with Peeters’ style.
Peeters was known for incorporating subtle self-portraits into her works, asserting her professional identity in a male-dominated art world. The Oslo painting, titled “Still Life with Small Game and Grapes on a Gilded Tazza,” features dead birds, hazelnuts, apricots, and a reflection of a person in the grapes. Despite challenges such as woodworm damage obscuring Peeters’ signature, Osiecki and her team confirmed the attribution through thorough analysis and comparison with Peeters’ other works.
The “Woman Painter” exhibition signifies a broader initiative by the National Museum of Norway to shed light on underrepresented artists’ careers and perspectives. Osiecki views the journey to reattribute the painting to Peeters as a reminder of the ongoing effort needed to recognize and celebrate female artists who have been overlooked or misattributed in art history.