Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels

Clara Peeters painted this Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels around 1615, one of her most accomplished works in the ontbijtje (breakfast piece) tradition. Peeters was among the first painters to specialize in still life, and her paintings of food and precious objects helped establish the genre as an independent subject in Flemish art. She was active in Antwerp from around 1607, making her one of the earliest professional female painters in the Netherlands.

The painting demonstrates Peeters' extraordinary skill at rendering different food textures, from the smooth cheese surface to the rough pretzel crust. Her self-portrait is hidden in reflections on the knife blade, a signature device she used in several paintings.