Christiane-Clarissa James was born in Munich in 1972 and trained in the classical tradition, with a sustained interest in Renaissance and nineteenth-century painting techniques. Raised in Munich, she became involved in film production at an early age before relocating to London to work at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in Camden. While in London, she undertook independent study in drawing and painting, supported by anatomical training at University College London and close study of works in the city’s museums. A formative visit to the Watts Gallery in Compton led to a particular engagement with Victorian painting and the Pre-Raphaelite circle.

In 1997, she moved to Florence to study at the Florence Academy of Art, an institution dedicated to academic methods of drawing and painting. She subsequently spent several summers working in the studio of Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum, further refining her approach to figurative painting. Alongside her own practice, she has taught Renaissance and nineteenth-century techniques, including the use of silverpoint.

Her work centres on life-size figurative compositions and studies of birds, including peacocks, cranes and falcons, often set against gold or silver grounds. She prepares her own pigments and incorporates traditional materials such as gold leaf, with detailed attention to surface, fabric and plumage.

James’s work is held in private collections across Europe, the United States, Japan and South Africa. She was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 2006, receiving the Cornelissen & Son Prize in the same year, and was elected a full member in 2009. In 2011, she completed a six-month residency as a guest painter in Lord Leighton’s studio at Leighton House Museum, London. She currently works between studios in London and Salzburg.