Still life
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Chrysanthemums in vase
Karine Harutyunyan
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$360
Flowers, spring - green, pink, red, white
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$10,884
Green tropical leaves (1)
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 200 x 200 x 4 cm Painting - 78.7 x 78.7 x 1.6 inch
$22,325
The book is an open window
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$11,163
Dinde ou dindon (Thanksgiving)
Herve Malcom Thomas
Painting - 50 x 60 x 0.2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$726
Composition florale
Innocenti
Fine Art Drawings - 32.5 x 27.5 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.8 x 10.8 x 0.1 inch
$515
Colorful peonies
Marieta Martirosyan
Painting - 60 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$450
Still life with fruits (1)
Sergey Miqayelyan
Painting - 24 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$280
Still life - mandarin
Sergey Miqayelyan
Painting - 24 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$300
Wrapped with Chanel Red
Gardani Art
Painting - 76.2 x 101.6 x 7.6 cm Painting - 30 x 40 x 3 inch
$3,500
Détail botanique
Andrée De Frémont
Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$3,628
Boccioli di ranuncolo
Antonella Scolfaro
Painting - 17 x 12 x 0.1 cm Painting - 6.7 x 4.7 x 0 inch
$447
Vegetables from my garden #10
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #9
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #8
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #7
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #6
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #5
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #4
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #3
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #2
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Vegetables from my garden #1
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits and vegetables from my garden #8
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits from my garden #7
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits from my garden #6
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits from my garden #5
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits from my garden #4
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits from my garden #3
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits from my garden #2
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Fruits from my garden #1
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 99.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 39 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Still life with quince
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 20 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$140
Still life with pomegranates and grapes
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 24 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$140
Still life with plums and apricot
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 20 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$140
Honeybees and Daffodils
Ottelien Huckin
Painting - 23.5 x 17 x 1 cm Painting - 9.3 x 6.7 x 0.4 inch
$523
Biltmore water 08invbnsolbnpart
Luca Artioli
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$5,000
Still life with a green skull
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 80 x 64.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 31.5 x 25.5 x 0.1 inch
$2,199
Chef and fish
Shine Huang
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 0.1 inch
$2,400
Home at night, contemplating
Le Hai Linh
Painting - 56 x 76 x 1 cm Painting - 22 x 29.9 x 0.4 inch
$2,623
Egg Study 4 , Silver Gelatin Print
Shine Huang
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 0.1 inch
$2,400
Ancient Page Angel
Shine Huang
Photography - 81.3 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 32 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$3,500
Ancient Page
Shine Huang
Photography - 81.3 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 32 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$3,500
Part in Silence
Funing Xia
Painting - 150 x 150 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 59.1 x 1.2 inch
$65,302 $55,507
Natura Morta, From Paranoia series
Salvatore Arnone
Photography - 88.9 x 127 x 0.3 cm Photography - 35 x 50 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Joseph Beuys - I've got beuys on the line ( Anti War Art )
Thomas Dellert
Sculpture - 147 x 115 x 20 cm Sculpture - 57.9 x 45.3 x 7.9 inch
$27,907
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…