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…
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Silhouettes. May
Elena Done
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 50 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$590
100th Anniversary Celebration Coffret # 9 - Childhood
Fabrizio La Torre
Print - 29.7 x 21 x 0.3 cm Print - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
$774
Two Cops - Poster collector
Gérard Rancinan
Print - 83 x 70 x 0.1 cm Print - 32.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$357
Compra en el mercadillo
Jordi Turbau
Painting - 54 x 73 x 3 cm Painting - 21.3 x 28.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,429
Movingwith mirror
Anand Manchiraju
Painting - 50.8 x 71.1 x 0.3 cm Painting - 20 x 28 x 0.1 inch
$2,000
Le bocal à la rose
Yves Calméjane
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,119
A still life on a late night
Rob Tucker
Painting - 100 x 90 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch
$9,524
Workday Conversations
Gegham Hunanyan
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$350
Moment
Taiwo Samuel Olutimileyin
Painting - 121.9 x 121.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 48 x 48 x 1 inch
$2,250
That beach
Corinne Dubreuil
Photography - 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,786
Être en première ligne - scène de plage et ses parasols - série Paysage de bord de mer
Gabrielle
Painting - 30 x 40 x 0.2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$744
Still Life Flowers
Juan Jose Abella
Painting - 46 x 38 x 1 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.4 inch
$1,310
Women from Salt River
Rudolph Carl Gorman
Print - 72.4 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Print - 28.5 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$2,250
Navajo on My Mind
Eter Merkviladze
Fine Art Drawings - 22 x 15 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.1 inch
$774
Série prestige : opéra
Martin-Fréville
Painting - 116 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 45.7 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,976
Coast of Bengal Bay I
Garik Avanesian
Photography - 34 x 60 x 5 cm Photography - 13.4 x 23.6 x 2 inch
$917
Hell's Angel
Robert Ieuan de Haan
Painting - 51 x 41 x 4 cm Painting - 20.1 x 16.1 x 1.6 inch
$1,667
Love Can Lead to Happiness
Slava Ilyayev
Painting - 50 x 61 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 24 x 1.2 inch
$4,800
Le photographe
Gabrielle Rul
Fine Art Drawings - 21 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.3 x 11.7 x 0 inch
$476
The gathering of dreamers
Akintomide Akinshola
Painting - 122 x 160 x 1 cm Painting - 48 x 63 x 0.4 inch
$4,167
Rivages-visages-paysages du Sepik III.
Jacques Doucet
Print - 66 x 87 cm Print - 26 x 34.3 inch
$714
L'uppercut de l'amour
Bertrand Thomassin
Painting - 40 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,786
The art of seduction
Javier Prieto Meneses
Painting - 65 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$952
Les deux amies II
Thérèse Boucraut
Painting - 130 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 51.2 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch
$5,953
La Piscine
Marine De Quénetain
Painting - 130 x 97 x 2 cm Painting - 51.2 x 38.2 x 0.8 inch
$4,643 $3,250
Still Life with Sweets
Alexander Litvinov
Painting - 54.5 x 63 x 2 cm Painting - 21.5 x 24.8 x 0.8 inch
$929
Boy with Turkey
Afro Basaldella
Sculpture - 130.5 x 98 x 1.4 cm Sculpture - 51.4 x 38.6 x 0.6 inch
$64,288
Composition abstraite sur table
Hélène Matlis
Painting - 61 x 50 x 1.9 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 0.7 inch
$893
From the Series Passion
Tengiz Cholokava
Painting - 38 x 17 x 1 cm Painting - 15 x 6.7 x 0.4 inch
$679
Procession of Nuns, Rangoon, Burma
Steve McCurry
Photography - 50 x 60 cm Photography - 19.7 x 23.6 inch
$10,715
Laure retour de match
Bertrand De Cointet
Painting - 60 x 92 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch
$857
Festivitée en vieille ville à Genève
René Guinand
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,649
Surreal Cemetery
Ken Heyman
Photography - 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography - 11 x 14 x 0.5 inch
$4,800
Artists Vantage Point
Theresa Vandenberg Donche
Painting - 30.5 x 30.5 x 3.8 cm Painting - 12 x 12 x 1.5 inch
$640
Soy feliz...Si nada te quita el sueño
Carol Tomàs Alcaine
Painting - 40 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch
$952
