During a visit to an Oslo museum storeroom in 2022, art historian and curator Cynthia Osiecki stumbled upon a still-life painting that caught her attention. Osiecki, who had been researching the works of Clara Peeters, a pioneering Flemish Baroque artist from the 17th century, suspected that the unattributed painting could be a forgotten piece by Peeters.
Osiecki shared, “We were in the process of acquiring a Clara Peeters artwork, as many museums are actively seeking to collect works by female artists. The discovery of this painting was almost too good to be true. It seemed we might have had a Clara Peeters piece in our storage all along, unbeknownst to us.”
Despite Peeters’ significant contributions to art, she remains relatively obscure in mainstream awareness, a common plight among female artists of her time, according to Osiecki.
The National Museum of Norway aims to shed light on historical female artists through the upcoming exhibition Woman Painter, opening on Oct. 8 in Oslo. The exhibition will showcase the works of 19 female artists who actively worked in northern Europe and Italy between 1550 and 1650, including renowned artists such as Judith Leyster, Lavinia Fontana, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Clara Peeters.
Detailed Process of Painting Attribution
The painting discovered by Osiecki, titled Still Life with Small Game and Grapes on a Gilded Tazza, was initially attributed to Ambrosius Brueghel, a member of a prominent artistic family in Antwerp, Belgium. After being labeled as “anonymous” and stored away, it was later reattributed to Clara Peeters after an extensive and meticulous process that spanned several years, as described by Osiecki.
Upon her initial examination of the painting, Osiecki noticed distinctive features that hinted at Peeters’ style. Peeters, an early expert in still-life painting, was known for incorporating subtle self-portraits into reflective surfaces within her works. This artistic technique served as a form of self-assertion in a male-dominated art world, explains Osiecki.
The painting includes nine dead birds, hazelnuts, apricots, and prominently displayed grapes, which drew Osiecki’s attention. She noted specific elements such as the depiction of a tazza and the arrangement of the birds within the composition, which aligned with Peeters’ typical style.
