Dutch still-life painter, born in Germany and active in Haarlem where he settled in 1617. He and Willem Claesz. Heda, who also worked in Haarlem, were the most important exponents of the "ontbijt" or breakfast piece. They painted with subdued, virtually monochromatic palettes, the subtle handling of light and texture being the prime means of expression. Claesz. generally chose objects of a more homely kind than Heda, although his later work became more colourful and decorative.

Still-life with Herring

1636
Oil on panel, 36 x 46 cm
Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam
 

The stylistic phases and fluctuations in aesthetics through which the Dutch landscape passed had their direct counterpart in still-life. The silvery tone which dominates in this Still-life by Claesz, muting the colours and subtly adjusting the objects to each other, directly relates to the tonal direction landscape took after 1630.

Still-life

1647
Oil on panel, 40 x 61 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

In the still-lifes of Claesz., the objects are ordered in a simple way; they are just laid out on the table. The light is even; shadows are used only to emphasize each object's plastic form.

Breakfast-piece