Clara Peeters

With Galerie de Jonkheere, Paris;
From whom acquired by the present owner in 1998.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This beautifully preserved painting is on a single large oak panel with no reinforcements on the reverse. The work has been recently cleaned and should be hung as is. The varnish is quite attractive and while there are no retouches visible under ultraviolet light in any great number, on either side of the squirrel in the upper right there a few retouches but it does seem that the remainder of the picture is mostly un-retouched and in lovely condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Relatively little is known about the life and career of Clara Peeters.  She is not recorded in the Antwerp guild -- even though women had begun to be admitted to its ranks as early as 1602 -- and her early training has remained obscure.  Only around 50 works by her hand are known, the earliest of which is signed and dated 1608.  She seems to have specialized in "breakfast" or "banquet" pieces, sumptuous still lifes of food stuffs that she sometimes grouped thematically or categorically; see her Cheesestack paintings, for example (P. Hibbs Decoteau, Clara Peeters, Lingen 1992, pp. 36, 37, 43). 

The present work juxtaposes the waxy, supple texture of the grapes in their woven basket to the soft, downy feathers of the duck and other game birds displayed on the table.  The overall feeling is of abundance and plenty.  The squirrel in the upper right hand portion of the composition reappears in a still life given to the Circle of Clara Peeters, depicting fruit and flowers in the Pitti Palace, Florence (Decoteau, p. 56).