Pieter Pietersz the Elder, also Pieter Pietersz. (I), (1540, Antwerp - 1603, Amsterdam), was a Dutch renaissance painter.
According to Karel van Mander , who mentioned him in his biography of his father Pieter Aertsen, he followed in his father's footsteps but took to portrait painting because large commissions were not to be had.[1] Van Mander did mention a large painting for the Baker's guild of Haarlem, which is in the possession of the Frans Hals Museum today, and which Van Mander described as very fiery and original.[1][2] He died in 1603 at age 62.[1]
According to the Rijksmuseum, he married the daughter of a glass painter in Haarlem in 1574.[3]
According to the RKD he was called "Jonge Lange Pier" as the oldest son of the painter Pieter Aertsen ("Lange Pier").[4] He was the older brother of the painters Aert and Dirk Pietersz, and grandfather of the painter Dirck van Santvoort.[4] From 1569 to 1583 he produced religious scenes in Haarlem, but he is mostly known for his market scenes produced in Amsterdam.[4] He was the teacher of his son, the painter Pieter Pietersz II, and the painter Cornelis van Haarlem.[4] Pietersz primarily painted portraits and altarpieces. He received many commissions and was a wealthy man at the time of his death.