Still life
Save your search and find it in your favorites
Saved search
Your search is accessible from the favorites tab > My favorite searches
Unsaved search
A problem occurred
Cairn (Plouescat, Bretagne)
Raphaël Galley
Sculpture - 12 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 4.7 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch
£533
Cairn (Les Landes océan)
Raphaël Galley
Sculpture - 12 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 4.7 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch
£533
Beautiful Evening
Dominique Jullien
Photography - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
£400
Papaveri 1 - Poppies 1
Adriano Bernetti da Vila
Painting - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
£2,133
Mimosa 4
Adriano Bernetti da Vila
Painting - 60 x 80 x 4.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.8 inch
£3,555
Audemars Piguet - Silver White Chrono
Vincent Sabatier
Print - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
£160 £80
Peras con bandeja I. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 83 x 110 x 0.2 cm Photography - 32.7 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Espárragos
Dora Franco
Photography - 72.6 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.6 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Peras con cortina marroquí III. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 110 x 73 x 0.3 cm Photography - 43.3 x 28.7 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Cebolla y Champiñones. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 72 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.3 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Peras con cortina marroquí II. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 110 x 88 x 0.3 cm Photography - 43.3 x 34.6 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Cerezas. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 73 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.7 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Copa de cerezas. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 110 x 72.7 x 0.3 cm Photography - 43.3 x 28.6 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Berenjenas. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 72.6 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.6 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Alcachofas con jarra III. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 81.3 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 32 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Cebollas con alcachofas. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 110 x 72.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 43.3 x 28.7 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Peras con bandeja II. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 110 x 72.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 43.3 x 28.7 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Cebollas con nabo. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 110 x 78.3 x 0.3 cm Photography - 43.3 x 30.8 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Cebollas con alcachofas II. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 110 x 75.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 43.3 x 29.6 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Bodegón verduras II. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 72 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.3 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Peras con cortina marroquí
Dora Franco
Photography - 72 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.3 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Peras con bandeja I. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 72.8 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.7 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Verduras con nabo y cebollas colgante I. From the bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 84.7 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 33.3 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Cebollas con alcachofas III
Dora Franco
Photography - 74.5 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 29.3 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Fritillaria drenovskii
Lyuben Domozetski
Painting - 32 x 24 x 0.2 cm Painting - 12.6 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
£311
Hotel Mermaid Club #1
Chris Rhodes
Photography - 10 x 8 x 0.2 cm Photography - 3.9 x 3.1 x 0.1 inch
£133
Marañones Lunes 23 de mayo
Celso Castro
Painting - 149.9 x 114.3 x 0.3 cm Painting - 59 x 45 x 0.1 inch
£2,488
Gangster Lady. Happy End
Mariana Gumeniuc
Painting - 100 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
£9,000
Still life - plums and pear
Stepan Ohanyan
Painting - 30 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£207
La chute- Chapitre 102 (Diptyque)
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 110 x 110 x 1 cm Painting - 43.3 x 43.3 x 0.4 inch
£13,331
Still life pomegranate and small watermelons
Stepan Ohanyan
Painting - 30 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
£265
Still Life with Eleven Objetcs in a Sphere
Giorgio Morandi
Print - 32.8 x 36.9 x 0.1 cm Print - 12.9 x 14.5 x 0 inch
£35,548
Pêches et poires
Stéphane Dufraisse
Painting - 46 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
£2,044
Verduras con nabo y cebollas colgante II. From The bodegon series
Dora Franco
Photography - 72.4 x 110 x 0.2 cm Photography - 28.5 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Face to Face (Hearts)
Salvatore Travascio
Painting - 140 x 200 x 1 cm Painting - 55.1 x 78.7 x 0.4 inch
£2,222
Div-Ine V
Magda Von Hanau
Photography - 81.3 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 32 x 48 x 0.1 inch
£2,073
Mémoire pour Herve
Jacques Tenenhaus
Sculpture - 70 x 21 x 21 cm Sculpture - 27.6 x 8.3 x 8.3 inch
£8,887
Wow is an all purpose exclamation
Hilary Tait Norod
Painting - 91.4 x 152.4 x 5.1 cm Painting - 36 x 60 x 2 inch
£2,654
Still life with bird and lamp
Ara Gasparyan
Painting - 50 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
£373
Still Life Series - Tea Fragrance
Zhao De-Wei
Painting - 97 x 130 x 4 cm Painting - 38.2 x 51.2 x 1.6 inch
£11,553
Milieu de soirée
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
£667
Bodegon con Melon y Albaricoques
Alberto Romero
Painting - 57 x 60 x 0.5 cm Painting - 22.4 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
£2,044
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…