Clara Peeters

Available March 2025 

Alejandro Vergara-Sharp 

Featuring newly attributed paintings, this book is an engaging exploration of Clara Peeters’s contributions to the genre of still-life painting.

Clara Peeters (ca. 1587–1636)—a Flemish still-life painter—was one of the most talented and creative artists among the early practitioners of this genre in Europe during the early seventeenth century. She specialized in paintings of food and was prominent among the artists who shaped the traditions of the Netherlandish ontbitjes (breakfast pieces) and banketjes (banquet pieces). Not only was she part of the first generation to specialize in this type of still-life painting, Peeters was the only Flemish woman known to have focused on genre painting in the early seventeenth century. Indeed, she was one of only a few women to dedicate her professional life to painting in early modern Europe.

In this monograph, author Alejandro Vergara-Sharp discusses what is known of Peeters’s biography while presenting the historical and cultural context behind her art, style, and techniques. Clara Peeters establishes the artist as a leader in her field by examining Peeters’s artistry and the material culture reflected in her paintings. This timely volume sheds light on the limitations that Peeters encountered because of her gender, and how she responded to them in her art, while assessing her importance as a painter of still life.

Alejandro Vergara-Sharp is senior curator of Flemish and Northern European paintings at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

“Vergara’s lively discussion of the comestibles and prized objects in the paintings of Clara Peeters, one of Europe’s first and finest female still-life painters, and his ability to describe the qualities and techniques she used to achieve her brand of realism make this concise, timely study a worthy addition to any bookshelf.”
—Ronni Baer, Allen R. Adler Distinguished Curator and Lecturer, Princeton University

“This book is an exceptional work that highlights the significance of painter Clara Peeters, offering a compelling prose that is both wonderfully written and makes a vital contribution to the recognition of women artists. Its insightful narrative and scholarly depth offer a captivating exploration of Peeters’s remarkable work and legacy.”
—Noelia García Pérez, Universidad de Murcia

Additional titles in this series.

128 pages
7 1/2 x 9 7/8 inches
55 color and 6 b/w illustrations
ISBN 978-1-60606-950-9
hardcover

Getty Publications
Imprint: Getty Publications
Series: Illuminating Women Artists 

2025