Pieter Claeissens the Elder, c. (1499–1576)
• Was a Flemish painter of history paintings, portraits and allegorical scenes.
• He was the first prominent artist in an extended family of artists from Bruges.
• Pieter Claeissens the Elder was born in Bruges as the son of Alard Claeissens who was also a painter.
• He was registered as a pupil of Adriaan Bekaert at the Guild of St. Luke of Bruges in 1516.
• He was admitted as a master in 1530 and was dean of the Guild in 1572.
• He married Marie Meese.
• They had five sons, the four youngest would become painters while Ambrosius became a master goldsmith.
• Pieter Claeissens the Elder died in Bruges in 1576.
• Among recent attributions to Pieter Claeissens the Elder are a number of works that were formerly attributed to
Ambrosius Benson.
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with Saint Antony and Abbot Antoine Wydoit [recto], 1557-1560
Original, Groeninge Museum Brugge, Belgium. Visited in 2023.
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with Saint Antony and Abbot Antoine Wydoit [recto], 1557-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with Saint Antony and Abbot Antoine Wydoit [recto], 1557-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with Saint Antony and Abbot Antoine Wydoit [recto], 1557-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with The Lactation of Saint Bernard [verso], 1557-1560
Original, Groeninge Museum Brugge, Belgium. Visited in 2023.
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with The Lactation of Saint Bernard [verso], 1557-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with The Lactation of Saint Bernard [verso], 1557-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder, Two Wings of an Altarpiece with The Lactation of Saint Bernard [verso], 1557-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder Flemish, The Seven Wonders of Bruges, 1550-1560
Original, Gruuthusemuseum Brugge, Belgium. Visited in 2023.
Pieter Claeissens the Elder Flemish, The Seven Wonders of Bruges, 1550-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder Flemish, The Seven Wonders of Bruges, 1550-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder Flemish, The Seven Wonders of Bruges, 1550-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder Flemish, The Seven Wonders of Bruges, 1550-1560
Pieter Claeissens the Elder Flemish, The Seven Wonders of Bruges, 1550-1560
