Still Life With Clara Peeters

2021, acrylic on paper, A3 (42 cm x 29.7 cm).
 
Signed and dated on reverse.
 
This work is from a series created over the last year focusing on food and the home.  It includes a small sketch of a still life by Clara Peeters, a 17th century Dutch still life artist who for a woman artist at that time was immensely successful. Dutch still life painting was plagued by a sense of guilt that stemmed from the conflict between puritanical restraint and the spectacular wealth and bounty of the merchant society, where the riches depicted were often used as ‘memento mori’ -  highlighting the fleeting nature of this life’s pleasures. In our current climate crisis, still life can be understood to take on a similar meaning.