Still life
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British style vase with Japanese chrysanthemum design
Hikaru O
Painting - 62.5 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 24.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$808
Boy with Turkey
Afro Basaldella
Sculpture - 130.5 x 98 x 1.4 cm Sculpture - 51.4 x 38.6 x 0.6 inch
$59,750
Wrapping Bonbon Peint 'Forever'
Laurence Jenkell
Sculpture - 80 x 27 x 20 cm Sculpture - 31.5 x 10.6 x 7.9 inch
$33,194
A prologue
Agnieszka Staak-Janczarska
Painting - 50 x 50 x 0.2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$996
Kanzanchis (Lingering II)
Eyoeal Kefyalew
Photography - 40 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$885
Renoncules
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 34 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography - 13.4 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,051
Bouquet de fleurs et coupe de fruits
Raya Safir
Painting - 65 x 50 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 inch
$609
Pomegranates (from the Fruits and Flowers Suite)
Donald Sultan
Print - 58.4 x 55.9 cm Print - 23 x 22 inch
$4,000
Fleurs
Gen Paul
Fine Art Drawings - 40.5 x 30 x 0.05 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$1,660
Gun
Philippe Huart
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 30 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$1,660
Still life with yellow
Chris Kamprad
Painting - 60 x 50 x 4 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$1,993
Absorbing reading
Pablo Echaurren
Fine Art Drawings - 38 x 28 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$1,328
Still Life With Monkey, Fruits and Flowers
Alexey Golovin
Painting - 135 x 105 x 4 cm Painting - 53.1 x 41.3 x 1.6 inch
$20,670
Tierras Naranjas (1)
Toussaint
Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$597 $538
Rivages-visages-paysages du Sepik III.
Jacques Doucet
Print - 66 x 87 cm Print - 26 x 34.3 inch
$664
La Chapelle sur Carouge
Bram van Velde
Painting - 100 x 74 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 29.1 x 0.4 inch
$243,429
Growing space VII
Gergana Tabakova
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 25 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 9.8 x 0 inch
$553
Above the canvas
Roman Rembovsky
Painting - 119.9 x 140 x 2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 55.1 x 0.8 inch
$7,591
Mélodie infinie d'amour
Yoël Benharrouche
Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$12,725
Orografia 8
Josep María Codina
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 40 x 5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 15.7 x 2 inch
$885
Dos manchas azules
Pablo Lambertos
Painting - 60 x 40 x 2.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 15.7 x 1 inch
$1,339
Echecs et pastèque
Nourreddine Guesmia
Painting - 90 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$885
Nature morte au navets et choux
Luigi Venturi
Painting - 34 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 13.4 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$856
Still life Rocks 1972 Nature morte Roches
Joseph Salamon
Fine Art Drawings - 21 x 25 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.3 x 9.8 x 0.1 inch
$1,051
Composition au jeu d'échec
Lia de Fontenelle
Painting - 100 x 81 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 inch
$1,106
Naturaleza Suspendida 1
Santiago Carrera
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,600
1993 Red Still life with Malevich Rouge
John Dowdridge
Print - 33 x 26 x 0.3 cm Print - 13 x 10.2 x 0.1 inch
$769
On the Kitchen Table 14
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$1,328
La mécanique du cœur N 3
Hélène Zanet
Painting - 100 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,047
Salle d'attente à l'hospice
Jörg Hermle
Painting - 33 x 46 x 3 cm Painting - 13 x 18.1 x 1.2 inch
$1,494
Decoration
Tako Chanchaleishvili
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 41 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 16.1 x 0 inch
$609
Boule de papier II
Joseph Caprio
Photography - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$885
Bouquet en fleurs
Gian Rodolfo D'Accardi
Painting - 49 x 34 x 0.5 cm Painting - 19.3 x 13.4 x 0.2 inch
$594
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…