Still life
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3 poires posant pour une nature morte
Sylvie Laliberté
Print - 63.5 x 48.3 x 1.3 cm Print - 25 x 19 x 0.5 inch
$1,236
Pomme pomme pomme poire pomme
Sylvie Laliberté
Print - 63.5 x 48.3 x 1.3 cm Print - 25 x 19 x 0.5 inch
$1,236
Still life - red plums
Stepan Ohanyan
Painting - 30 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$300 $255
Still life with peaches
Aliya Abs
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$2,832
Soucis, pensées et autres fleurs
Daniel Couthures
Painting - 30 x 30 x 1.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.6 inch
$787
Nourritures du futur I
Angélique
Sculpture - 45 x 32 x 32 cm Sculpture - 17.7 x 12.6 x 12.6 inch
$4,495
Centaurées et Bignones - composition florale
Henri Mahé dit HIM
Painting - 100 x 70 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.6 inch
$2,950
Still life - flowers -5 (1) (1)
Narek Qochunc
Painting - 20 x 15 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inch
$99
Chapeau de paille
Ludivine Corominas
Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,910
On the old quay
Zhivko Mutafchiev
Painting - 95 x 120 x 2.5 cm Painting - 37.4 x 47.2 x 1 inch
$2,809
Still Life One
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 inch
$6,500
Three and half Pair of Chopsticks
Wang Huaiqing
Print - 75.5 x 78 x 0.02 cm Print - 29.7 x 30.7 x 0 inch
$5,618
Heure absente
Maryse-Anne Couteau
Fine Art Drawings - 29 x 29 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.4 x 11.4 x 0.4 inch
$4,495
L'enfant à la coque
Maryse-Anne Couteau
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 20 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$2,809
Magnetic Radiation 99 (Large)
Seb Janiak
Photography - 180 x 135 cm Photography - 70.9 x 53.1 inch
$7,847
The sound of the flower
Lana Taher
Painting - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,292
Still life with flowers
Vlas Ayvazyan
Painting - 30 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch
$200 $170
Untitled Morocco 22
Ziad Naitaddi
Photography - 30 x 40 x 2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$787
Friday morning, six o'clock III
Mihaela Ivanova
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$337
Friday morning, six o'clock II
Mihaela Ivanova
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$337
Friday morning, six o'clock I
Mihaela Ivanova
Photography - 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$337
Postulat nécessaire d'une cafetière
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 50 x 46 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 18.1 x 0.4 inch
$3,820
Les observateurs mécaniques et l'avion jaune
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 47 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 18.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$4,607
Question de gravité
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 40 x 38 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15 x 0.4 inch
$3,034
Still life with pomegranate and grape
Sergey Miqayelyan
Painting - 24 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$280
Bestiole incertaine
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 33 x 41 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 16.1 x 0.4 inch
$2,472
The Vase and Paper Cranes
Hung Ngo
Painting - 60 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,000
The Mosaic of a Taste
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 100 x 2.3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.9 inch
$6,630
"Just Persimmon..." Still life painting in hyperrealism
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 100 x 2.3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.9 inch
$6,630
Banquet au Rialto
Nathalie Lemaître
Painting - 80 x 120 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch
$5,394
Lalique Vase Still Life
Wayne Ensrud
Painting - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Painting - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
$1,500
Hommage à Matisse # 2
Pascal Marlin
Painting - 61 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,067
La Naissance de L'Aigle
Carlos Antonio Sablon Perez
Painting - 100 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$10,113
Still life
Although at its heart a classic subject, the still life was the preferred approach of Cézanne, the artist who paved the way for art to enter its most modern phase. From Cubism to Hyperrealism via Pop art, sculpture, and photography, almost all art forms have been at some point shown that it is still possible to breathe new life into this age old theme.
Be it completely de-structured, funny, classic, or minimalist, the contemporary still life is far from old fashioned, despite the fact that it boasts a long, celebrated history.
Let's take a closer look at this theme that recurs so often across art history… even in antiquity, Pliny had already written about a painter called Piraikos, known for his paintings of 'provisions for cooking', and the optical illusions of Zeuxis, from which it was said that birds would try to pick off the raisins because they looked so real. The conventional still life as we know it today, however, dates back to the 17th century, where it developed in Holland under strict aesthetic codes.
Generally, oils on canvas were the preferred method for representing inanimate objects of varying types (lots of fruit, fish, game…) and flowers. The colours were muted, the background a monochromic black, the atmosphere heavy, and the light at a steep diagonal angle. There were few elements but they were precisely arranged and loaded with religious symbolism.
Even though still life was never considered a genre in its own right, almost all of the great masters have tried their hand at it at some point or other. Across the 19th century, all the art movements went through a still life phase: romanticism, impressionism, symbolism… and under the brushes of Degas, Cézanne, Monet, etc., still life evolved.
Little by little, artists added colours, erased the biblical references and replaced them with everyday objects in ever greater numbers: cooking utensils, cups of coffee, gas lamps, musical instruments…
In the 20th century, modern art once more dusted off this 'boring' subject, and began to play with its strict codes. From cubism to pop art to surrealism, all of the artistic movements made their mark on still life. Bit by bit, they took it to pieces and rebuilt it, moving ever closer to the contemporary still life, which has little to do with the original genre except for its central theme.
After his separation from Olga Khokhlova in 1936, Pablo Picasso painted 'Still Life Under a Lamp' whose plastic elements suggested themes that would later be developed in his famous 'Guernica' the following year. Pale lamplight dominates the triangular composition in the centre of the canvas and the arms of the antique sculpture appear to be on the verge of falling off the table. Although the piece altogether seems to move away from the classic still life, it maintains the traditional heavy atmosphere.
In 1956 the Catalan surrealist painter Salvador Dali painted 'Living Still Life' in his typical humorous style. The canvas – divided in two to represent night and day – shows a table on a balcony. The elements (wine, water, a pear, a knife…) are in motion, or rather levitating, as though someone has just struck the tabletop.
Artsper invites you to explore a range of contemporary still life pieces that are both traditional and surprising in our unique selection. Discover the work of Syvie Andlauer Baruch, Gonzalo Sicre, Zbigniew Wozniak, and many more…