Bonaventura I. Peeters (1614 - 1652)

Nothing is known about the training of this Flemish marine artist, who had a reputation in the southern and northern Netherlands. At the age of 20 he became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke. His fame rests on views of the River Scheldt in a strong wind, storms at sea and shipwrecks in rough seas under piles of heavy clouds. He monogrammed and dated the majority of his works. He and his elder brother, the landscape painter Gillis I (1612–1653), ran a workshop where their younger brother Jan I (1624– 1680) received his training. Jan’s orientation towards the style and subjects of his brother Bonaventura have led to problems of attribution. Although some of his artist colleagues moved to Holland, on account of the political and religious conflicts in the Catholic southern Netherlands, Bonaventura I and Jan I remained in their Flemish homeland, despite economic disadvantages.

Author: Ducke Astrid

Literature: DUCKE Astrid, HABERSATTER Thomas, OEHRING Erika: Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2015, S. 82