Still life
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Nature morte et parchemin rouge
Benjamin II Vautier
Painting - 41 x 32.7 x 0.5 cm Painting - 16.1 x 12.9 x 0.2 inch
$686
La Luz, (Black & White)
Jose Ricardo Contreras Gonzalez
Painting - 49.8 x 39.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19.6 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,198
La Luz 23
Jose Ricardo Contreras Gonzalez
Painting - 30 x 39.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$999
La Luz 10
Jose Ricardo Contreras Gonzalez
Painting - 30 x 39.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,000
Yellow Background # 4
Vadim Puyandaev
Painting - 91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm Painting - 36 x 36 x 1.5 inch
$6,880
Le livre - 1
Jean-Jacques Guionnet
Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,228
Candle light dinner for a good bye
Perrine Anna Chantal
Painting - 116 x 160 x 2.4 cm Painting - 45.7 x 63 x 0.9 inch
$2,108
Tête m'en tombe
Herve Malcom Thomas
Painting - 70 x 59 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 23.2 x 1.2 inch
$1,172
Bouquet aux fleurs jaunes
Marius Chambaz
Painting - 65 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$686
Come il Santo (Like the Saint)
Tommaso Cascella
Painting - 60 x 60 x 8 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 3.1 inch
$7,256
Rien de grave
Eugenia Jaeger
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 59 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 23.2 inch
$781
A Little Pomegranate
Delyafruz Bagirova
Painting - 24 x 18 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.8 inch
$290
Untitled succulent
Rodrigo Etem
Photography - 81.3 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 32 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Evening still life 2.
Iryna Kastsova
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,674
Lettre de voyage Chine
Ewa Dziengielewicz
Painting - 90 x 90 x 3 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch
$1,105
Fenêtre sur le golf
Georges Yoldjoglou
Painting - 73 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch
$1,451
Douceur d’hortensias
Martine Grégoire
Painting - 73 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$726
Still Life with a Yellow Tulip and a Yellow Opalina Vase, Antwerp
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.3 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.1 inch
$5,000
Bouquet dans son vase
Alexis Louis Roche
Painting - 46 x 37.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 18.1 x 14.8 x 0.1 inch
$663
Un giorno qualunque
Alexander Daniloff
Painting - 32 x 28 x 0.5 cm Painting - 12.6 x 11 x 0.2 inch
$363 $309
Catalunya 1
Fernando Alday
Fine Art Drawings - 29.5 x 39.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.6 x 15.6 inch
$279
The power of love 1
Line Taarnberg
Photography - 30 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$642
Bouteille et verre
Pierre Boillon
Photography - 60 x 42 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 1.2 inch
$603
Un radis
Meteo Meteo
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$73
Banana
Meteo Meteo
Fine Art Drawings - 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch
$73
Salmon for Lunch
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 38.1 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm Painting - 15 x 18 x 1 inch
$580
Dimanche matin - série les poupées
Pierre Jarraud
Painting - 80 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$4,186
Trilogie - Huitres et coquillages de mer
Alexandra Baudin
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$2,512
Exuberant Peonies and a Little Thing Called Love in a form of a Young Blue Dog
Joanna Glazer
Painting - 90 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$547
Nature morte 1
Nadine de Lespinats
Painting - 60 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$1,183
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…