Artists
Pieter Claesz
- Country:
- Netherlands
- Birth year:
- 1597
- Death year:
- 1661
Pieter Claesz. (c. 1597 Westphalia-1660/61 Haarlem) is documented as having been in Haarlem from 1617 onward; little is known with certainty about his early life. At first he painted still life with different collections of extravagent household items. Together with Willem Claesz Heda, he then developed the genre of the monochromen banketje, a variation of the breakfast still life. In these pictures he avoids the opulence of Flemish models and selects a few objects that he arranges as if by chance on white tablecloths. Characteristic of his style is an earthy palette consisting of tones of brown, ochre, gray and white with little lighting. With this style, Claesz gave Dutch still-life painting its classical stamp. Major works by the artist include Breakfast with Pewter Jug, 1643, Musee Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels; Breakfast with Ham. 1647, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg; and still Life with Fruit, 1649, The National Gellery London.