Pieters (Amsterdam 1856- 1933 Laren) was born into a poor family. At the age of nineteen he went to Antwerp in the hope of building a better life there as an apprentice decorator. He attended evening classes at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Antwerp to learn to draw better. He later apprenticed with the Belgian landscape painter Theodoor Verstraete, who discovered his talent. Together they go into nature to paint landscapes. In the meantime, Pieters also paints interiors and still lifes to earn a living.
In 1883 Pieters had his first success with the painting "Rest time of the woodcutters” at the world exhibition in Antwerp. From that time on he focused entirely on painting and continued to work in Belgium for quite some time. "Wheatfield in Flanders" earned him won several prizes both in Belgium and at the Paris salon. He married Marie van de Bossche with whom he spent some time in Paris and in Barbizon. The incidence of light in Barbizon's paintings encourages him to use the reflection of light differently in his own paintings to go.
After a stay in Belgium and Paris, he settled in Blaricum, where the Gooise's sunny farmhouse interiors and blooming gardens with mothers and playing children inspired him. His southern, colorful palette distinguishes him from other Gooise painters such as Albert Neuhuys and Hein Kever. However, success in the Netherlands took a while and he was even rejected from the Pulchri Studio; "Den Vlaeming" was not recognized among the Hague painters. Only after the intervention of Jacob Maris did this succeed. During these Gooise times, the Pieters family also became friends with art collectors William and Anna Singer, who also bought Pieters' work, just like many other Americans who visited our country.
Pieters was known for his bohemian lifestyle and regularly traveled through the Netherlands where Kotters and the surf had his attention. Shortly after the turn of the century, Pieters spent some time in Italy to recover from an operation. From that time on his work becomes lighter and clearer. In 1905 he moved to Katwijk aan Zee for three years, where he made a large number of beach scenes, often with shell fishermen and horses. He then settled in Laren, where he again focused on painting Gooise interiors and had permanent models pose in the garden. The works become lighter than in his Blaricum period and the Netherlands discovers his talent.
Pieters died during a taxi ride from Baarn to Laren, aged 77. His work is in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the Frans Hals Museum, the Singer and museums in Barcelona and Toledo.
