Kaiserschild Art Defined | Pieter Claesz

For the exhibition Dining with Pieter Claesz, six paintings by Pieter Claesz were digitised in high resolution. These digital images allow visitors to explore the works in a level of detail that is difficult to appreciate with the naked eye. The finest brushstrokes, material textures and painterly details can be enlarged and examined at close range. This brings Claesz’s meticulous technique and his exceptional ability to depict different materials, light and reflections into sharper focus.

The digital images are designed to complement the original paintings. Rather than replacing the direct encounter with the works, they offer an additional way of exploring them. Details that form part of the overall composition in the original can be isolated, enlarged and examined more closely in digital form. In this way, digital tools draw attention to details and relationships that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Seven short films have been produced to explore different aspects of Claesz’s artistic practice and the tradition of still-life painting. They examine selected themes from the exhibition in greater depth, provide historical context and highlight the precision of his technique.

Through Kaiserschild Art Defined, the Kaiserschild Foundation combines the preservation of works of art with new ways of exploring and interpreting them. Its aim is to make art accessible to a wide range of audiences and to offer opportunities to discover familiar works from new perspectives. The Foundation sees digital technologies as tools that enhance access to the original and encourage a deeper engagement with art.

The exhibition in Winterthur exemplifies this approach. The original paintings remain at the heart of the experience, while digital images and films open up additional perspectives. Together, these different ways of seeing invite visitors to look more closely at Pieter Claesz’s art and discover details they might otherwise have missed.

In Winterthur, this approach is brought to life in the third instalment of Kaiserschild Art Defined, following presentations at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the Alte Galerie at the Universalmuseum Joanneum in Graz.

Published as part of Kaiserschild Art Defined, Pieter Claesz: Stillleben accompanies the exhibitions and is available in German only.

The publication documents the development of the project and the ideas underpinning it, bringing together a range of perspectives on Pieter Claesz and his work. Art-historical essays explore his still-life paintings in their historical context and in relation to the collections in which they are held. A contemporary artistic perspective engages with Claesz’s work, while other contributions explore the possibilities of digital approaches to presenting and exploring art, as well as the interplay between original paintings, high-resolution digitisation and interactive formats.

Bringing together art history, contemporary art and digital interpretation, the publication demonstrates how these different approaches can enrich one another, opening up new ways of exploring historical works of art in greater detail and from fresh perspectives.

Pieter Claesz: Stillleben is available from the museum shop.

The Austrian Kaiserschild Foundation was founded by Dr Hans Riegel, co-owner of HARIBO. It supports initiatives in education, science and the arts, developing its own projects and bringing them to life in collaboration with partners.

The Foundation is committed to supporting, preserving and making the visual arts accessible to a wider audience. Its work centres on its art collection, which consists primarily of paintings by Dutch masters on display at the Alte Galerie of the Universalmuseum Joanneum in Graz. Through exhibitions and art education projects of its own, the Foundation creates new opportunities for audiences to discover these works and engage with them. In doing so, it combines the preservation of its collection with contemporary approaches to art education, opening up new ways of experiencing and exploring historical works of art.

Explore the sources consulted in the development of the Pieter Claesz project for Kaiserschild Art Defined.