“Lost Clara Peeters Painting Found in Museum Storage”

LISTEN | Clara Peeters painting discovered in museum storage, hidden in plain sight:

As It Happens6:42Clara Peeters painting discovered in a museum’s storage

Art historian and curator Cynthia Osiecki made a remarkable discovery in an Oslo museum storage in 2022. While searching for a Clara Peeters painting to acquire, Osiecki stumbled upon an unattributed still-life piece that she suspected might be a lost work by the renowned 17th-century Flemish Baroque artist.

Osiecki expressed her astonishment, stating, “It’s almost too good to be true to have a Clara Peeters hanging right in your storage while the museum was actively looking for women artists on the art market.” This find sheds light on Peeters’ underappreciated legacy, a common plight among female artists of her time, according to Osiecki.

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The National Museum of Norway is set to showcase historic female artists in the forthcoming exhibition Woman Painter starting on Oct. 8. This exhibit will feature works by 19 female artists from northern Europe and Italy from 1550 to 1650, including Clara Peeters alongside Judith Leyster, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemisia Gentileschi.

Unveiling the True Artist

The painting titled Still Life with Small Game and Grapes on a Gilded Tazza, initially attributed to Ambrosius Brueghel, was later categorized as “anonymous” and stored away. Osiecki’s meticulous research eventually led to the reattribution of the piece to Clara Peeters after several years of investigation.

Peeters’ distinct style included embedding her self-portraits subtly within objects, symbolizing her professional identity in a male-dominated art world. The painting discovered in Oslo showcased dead birds, hazelnuts, apricots, and notable features like grapes and a tazza, characteristic of Peeters’ work.

Despite challenges such as woodworm damage obscuring Peeters’ signature, Osiecki’s perseverance, along with extensive study and restoration efforts, confirmed Peeters as the true artist. The painting is now set to be a focal point of the upcoming exhibition.

Nora Ceciliedatter, director of collections and exhibitions at the National Museum of Norway, emphasized that the Woman Painter exhibit aims to highlight historically underrepresented female artists and their invaluable contributions.

Osiecki emphasized the importance of continuing to uncover and recognize the works of female artists to rectify historical misattributions and neglect. She stressed the significance of dedicated research to unveil hidden masterpieces by female creators.