Still life
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At the End of the Day
Natia Sapanadze
Painting - 44 x 33 x 2 cm Painting - 17.3 x 13 x 0.8 inch
£1,707
HEtresEnCompagnie #08
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 50 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
£270
Nourritures du futur I
Angélique
Sculpture - 45 x 32 x 32 cm Sculpture - 17.7 x 12.6 x 12.6 inch
£3,594
La isla
Mathilde de Bellecombe
Painting - 100 x 80 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 2 inch
£1,797 £1,240
Still life swimming duck with croissant
Gevorg Sinanyan
Painting - 37 x 47 x 0.6 cm Painting - 14.6 x 18.5 x 0.2 inch
£379
Hommage à Carpeaux
Christoff Debusschere
Painting - 100 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
£4,044
Still life with orchid buds
Julia Marchlewska
Painting - 100 x 120 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch
£2,246
Marine à l'aube d'une nouvelle journée
Jacques Gorde
Painting - 46 x 55 x 3 cm Painting - 18.1 x 21.7 x 1.2 inch
£1,339
Life in Plastic III
Gergana Tabakova
Painting - 55 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
£809
Manifesto Bananero
Jean-François Boclé
Painting - 24 x 32 x 1 cm Painting - 9.4 x 12.6 x 0.4 inch
£2,407
Manifesto Bananero
Jean-François Boclé
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 32 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 12.6 x 0.4 inch
£2,407
El resplandor [The shining]
Gloria Matarazzo
Print - 20 x 30 x 0.5 cm Print - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch
£435
Cuina verd, groc i gris
Montse Roldos
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 30 x 0.03 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
£166
Choice who to be...
Tetiana Kalivoshko
Painting - 76.2 x 101.6 x 5.1 cm Painting - 30 x 40 x 2 inch
£4,638
Sanctifiée V
Romain Liverato
Photography - 50 x 50 x 4 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
£2,696
Cornflowers and Phloxes
Yuriy Demiyanov
Painting - 40 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
£1,168
Things aren't always what they seem
On Hansen
Photography - 69 x 100 x 0.3 cm Photography - 27.2 x 39.4 x 0.1 inch
£1,265
Sphere of Life, #2238, Mixed-Media Collage
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 54 x 44 x 2.5 cm Photography - 21.25 x 17.32 x 1 inch
£1,349
L'atmosphère du savoir
Lilly Sotirova
Painting - 54 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 21.3 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
£1,168
L’esprit de la terre
Bengt Lindström
Sculpture - 66 x 41 x 8 cm Sculpture - 26 x 16.1 x 3.1 inch
£5,931
Cascade et tumulte, les Gorges du Loup
Claude Schürr
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2.5 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 1 inch
£2,336
The Hall of Lost Steps 1
Izabela Apananska
Print - 29 x 20 x 0.3 cm Print - 11.4 x 7.9 x 0.1 inch
£404
Composition abstraite
Mady Epstein
Painting - 81 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
£1,203
Le plateau d’huîtres
Edmond Ceria
Painting - 27 x 41 x 3 cm Painting - 10.6 x 16.1 x 1.2 inch
£2,246
Hiding in the city, Paris - n°14, Pharmacy
Liu Bolin
Photography - 90 x 120 cm Photography - 35.4 x 47.2 inch
£13,030
Sans titre (#08-22)
Pawel Zak
Photography - 67 x 93 x 0.1 cm Photography - 26.4 x 36.6 x 0 inch
£4,134
De Chlore et de Rosé
Christopher Barraja
Photography - 90 x 60 cm Photography - 35.4 x 23.6 inch
£1,078
Nature-morte aux pinceaux
Pierre Brochet
Photography - 30 x 40 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 inch
£404
Fruits et vin en Touraine
Jacques Despierre
Painting - 40 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 15.7 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
£6,739
Lampe chou Romanesco
Jean Valera
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
£1,078
3 red balls of wool
Alison Aplin Artist
Painting - 91 x 122 x 4 cm Painting - 35.8 x 48 x 1.6 inch
£3,100
Watch It Burn
Jennifer Gilligan
Painting - 19.05 x 24.13 x 0.6 cm Painting - 7.5 x 9.5 x 0.2 inch
£872
Bouquet de fleurs et vase en verre
Alexandre Rochat
Painting - 35 x 27 x 2 cm Painting - 13.8 x 10.6 x 0.8 inch
£555
Nature Morte, Fruits et Couleurs (2)
Brooke Range
Print - 100 x 100 x 5 cm Print - 39.4 x 39.4 x 2 inch
£719
Valise-Mémoire 1
Olivier Sultan
Sculpture - 45 x 65 x 15 cm Sculpture - 17.7 x 25.6 x 5.9 inch
£1,438
Sans titre
Odonchimeg Davaadorj
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 41.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 16.3 inch
£988
Vase
Guillaume Delvigne
Fine Art Drawings - 40.7 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16 x 11.7 x 0 inch
£988
Fragile and Broken
David Bush
Fine Art Drawings - 81.3 x 121.9 x 2.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 32 x 48 x 1 inch
£1,181
Le bouquet de Chrystèle
Sandra Paris
Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£366
Still life - pears, plums and pepper
Zbigniew Wozniak
Painting - 46 x 56 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 22 x 0.8 inch
£449
Fun sculpture composition
Klyöwa
Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
£696
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…