Still life
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Le liquide rouge
Yannick Bouillault
Sculpture - 40 x 21 x 20 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 8.3 x 7.9 inch
$1,301
Lilac
Alisa Onipchenko-Cherniakovska
Painting - 89.9 x 100.1 x 2.5 cm Painting - 35.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch
$2,350
Le chant des fleurs
Gauthier Bruel
Painting - 81 x 65 x 5 cm Painting - 31.9 x 25.6 x 2 inch
$1,640 $1,394
Mujer Con Vestido Rojo Y Móvil
Ernest Carneado Ferreri
Painting - 92 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,470
Daydream Nightmare
Philippe Huart
Painting - 120 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$10,743
Bouquet de tournesols
Percival Pernet
Painting - 77 x 58 x 0.5 cm Painting - 30.3 x 22.8 x 0.2 inch
$1,487
Bouquet près de la fenêtre
Louis Henri Salzmann
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
$1,258
Propre à savoir
Benoît Tranchant
Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$3,393
A bouquet of red flowers in a vase
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 120 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$3,958
Tarros y medicinas
José Manuel Ballester
Print - 55.9 x 75.9 x 0 cm Print - 22 x 29.9 x 0.01 inch
$1,000
French School - Still life Lemon Summer Starwars - Oil Painting 21th
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 40 x 40 x 3.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,244
Sans titre, Velvet serie
Baptiste Laurent
Painting - 62 x 52 x 2 cm Painting - 24.4 x 20.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,414
Still Life (Flowers)
Natalya Listopad
Painting - 33 x 27 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 10.6 x 0.4 inch
$600
Still Life (Flowers)
Natalya Listopad
Painting - 33 x 27 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 10.6 x 0.4 inch
$600
Hongos y cuchara. From "Bodegon" Series
Dora Franco
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,750
Still Life in Violet imparting Lemon shadows
Vanessa Cuthbert
Painting - 62 x 92 x 2 cm Painting - 24.4 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch
$3,309 $2,978
Still Life in Blue
Vanessa Cuthbert
Painting - 59 x 59 x 2 cm Painting - 23.2 x 23.2 x 0.8 inch
$2,382 $2,144
Force sauvage I
Pierre Le Preux
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$3,053
Sans titre
Serge Plagnol
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 65 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0 inch
$565
Tactile Memory #157
Natasha Zupan
Painting - 24.1 x 19.1 x 7.6 cm Painting - 9.5 x 7.5 x 3 inch
$2,150
Tactile Memory #156
Natasha Zupan
Painting - 24.1 x 19.1 x 7.6 cm Painting - 9.5 x 7.5 x 3 inch
$2,150
Nature morte : Nature morte, Hommage à Morandi
Pierre Prèneron
Painting - 51 x 72 x 3 cm Painting - 20.1 x 28.3 x 1.2 inch
$2,262
Chinese Interior #20
Robert van der Hilst
Photography - 49 x 42 cm Photography - 19.3 x 16.5 inch
$2,036
Building my Nest - 2 Trees
Joanna Glazer
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$554
Composition Florale11
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,414
Composition Florale 10
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,414
Composition Florale 8
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,414
Composition Florale 7
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,414
Still life - Flor - Alberto Romero
Alberto Romero
Painting - 38 x 34 x 5 cm Painting - 15 x 13.4 x 2 inch
$1,414
Les pensées sont des bombes
Willy Charps
Painting - 81 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,357
Bowl with blue cloth Cuenco con trapo azul
Alberto Romero
Painting - 50 x 53 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 20.9 x 0.4 inch
$1,923
Bowl with eggs Cuenco con huevos
Alberto Romero
Painting - 50 x 53 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 20.9 x 0.4 inch
$1,923
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…