Still life
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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
$74
A bird without a song
Haude Bernabé
Sculpture - 102 x 65 x 72 cm Sculpture - 40.2 x 25.6 x 28.3 inch
$11,083
Nature morte à la pomme
Fernand Blondin
Painting - 26.5 x 34.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 10.4 x 13.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,773
Straight to heaven
Stephanie Powell
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$735
1987 PLAY VII Ropes Branches Cordes Mezzotint
Katsunori Hamanishi
Print - 24 x 20 cm Print - 9.4 x 7.9 inch
$2,205
Bouquet de fleurs dans un joli vase vert
Pierre Jaques
Painting - 65 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,785
Le Chant du Cygne, Heros
Andréa Olga Mantovani
Photography - 50 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
$1,414
Nature morte aux paniers d'osier
Pierre Jouffroy
Painting - 60 x 72.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 28.5 x 0.2 inch
$1,842
Nature morte bouquet de fleurs
Taki Kawa
Painting - 35 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 13.8 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch
$1,121
Into the valley
Ingegerd K Westin
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$4,976
Gaia sphère
Patrick Lamouroux
Sculpture - 98 x 48 x 48 cm Sculpture - 38.6 x 18.9 x 18.9 inch
$4,976
Octopus#3
Jean-Baptiste Sénégas
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$1,018
Coffee & Cigarette 5
Andrea Vandoni
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$565
Nature Morte aux Sardines
Constantin Terechkovitch
Painting - 39 x 47 x 0.5 cm Painting - 15.4 x 18.5 x 0.2 inch
$1,144
Circumambulate. The Doldrums, from the series "SPAR/CUBA"
Paul Meleschnig
Photography - 30.5 x 20.3 x 0.3 cm Photography - 12 x 8 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Bouquet rose et la canne au pommeau d'argent
Jean Verdier
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
$1,041
Natura morta (Still life)
Gino Severini
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 13 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.1 inch
$11,874
Brush with blue Fabric (study); Brush n°2 with pink Fabric (study)
Yuri Kuper
Print - 83 x 79 x 1 cm Print - 32.7 x 31.1 x 0.4 inch
$565
Blue #3
Thibaut De Rohan-Chabot
Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$905
Bouquet de rose
Stéphanie Caroline Guerzoni
Painting - 46 x 33 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 13 x 0.8 inch
$1,144
Nature morte aux épis de maïs
Piero Poraccia
Painting - 50 x 69.5 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,258
Nature morte à la guitare et coupe de fruits
Pippo Oriani
Painting - 33 x 46.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 13 x 18.3 x 0.1 inch
$1,087
Serpent de l'Église XVII°
Judith Schmid L'Eplattenier
Painting - 88 x 62 x 0.3 cm Painting - 34.6 x 24.4 x 0.1 inch
$1,018
Nature morte au képi, épée et uniforme
Hermann Haller
Painting - 69.5 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 27.4 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,018
Nature morte aux livres et à la pipe
S. Pagani
Painting - 38 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,487
Nature morte aux fruits et pichet vert
Georges Duval
Painting - 60.5 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 23.8 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$995
Nature morte
Nicolas Roumiantzeff
Painting - 38.5 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 15.2 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,144
Poissons, citron et cuivre
Jules Jacques Olivier De Cocquerel
Painting - 45 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 17.7 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,487
Le regardeur initial
Danie Faurie
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,827
Bouquet de fleurs
Jean-Louis Berger
Painting - 55 x 33.5 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 13.2 x 0.8 inch
$1,121
Nature morte avec panier de fruits et légumes
Joseph Vanmaekelberghe
Painting - 45 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 17.7 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,373
Rock Has No Tongue
Jessica Houston
Sculpture - 99.1 x 38.1 x 29.2 cm Sculpture - 39 x 15 x 11.5 inch
$6,400
Nature morte au cuivre, poterie et pommes
A. Bally
Painting - 44 x 59 x 0.3 cm Painting - 17.3 x 23.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,030
Nature morte fruit faïence et couteau
André-Laurent Kunkler
Painting - 23 x 26 x 0.5 cm Painting - 9.1 x 10.2 x 0.2 inch
$972
Sculpture, boîte et sacoche
Raoul Bovy-Lysberg
Painting - 48 x 62 x 2 cm Painting - 18.9 x 24.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,151
Nature morte à l'arrosoir et aux cactus
William Goliasch
Painting - 46 x 60 x 0.5 cm Painting - 18.1 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
$1,178
He loves me, he loves me not
Ala Ilescu
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 2 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 0.8 inch
$3,346
Still life even under the sea
Emilio Cardona
Painting - 80 x 115 cm Painting - 31.5 x 45.3 inch
$6,220
All Shook Up
Terrece Beesley
Fine Art Drawings - 45.7 x 40.6 x 1.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 18 x 16 x 0.5 inch
$1,790
Cactus en fleurs
Arne Siegfried
Painting - 61.5 x 46.5 x 1 cm Painting - 24.2 x 18.3 x 0.4 inch
$675
Television Antenna
Domenico Purificato
Painting - 35.6 x 25.3 x 0.1 cm Painting - 14 x 10 x 0 inch
$565
A transience insight
Li Baoxun
Fine Art Drawings - 32 x 55 x 4 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.6 x 21.7 x 1.6 inch
$2,827
Nature morte aux pommes, poires et raisin
K. Haeuser
Painting - 50 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,059
Sul prato a primavera
Renato Bertoloni
Painting - 60 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,510
Oriental Bathroom
Alexander Sergheev
Painting - 24 x 19 x 1 cm Painting - 9.4 x 7.5 x 0.4 inch
$1,470
Still life
Edita Broglio
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 20 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$905
Fleurs en folie
Louis-Claude Paviot
Painting - 59 x 46.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 23.2 x 18.3 x 0.1 inch
$629
Départ pour la pêche, chapeau, flèches et pagaie
A. A. Alaned
Painting - 30.5 x 91.5 x 2 cm Painting - 12 x 36 x 0.8 inch
$744
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…