Still life
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Danseuse dalinienne
Salvador Dali
Sculpture - 44.5 x 22.5 x 20.5 cm Sculpture - 17.5 x 8.9 x 8.1 inch
$39,042
Le bocal à la rose
Yves Calméjane
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,997
Hollyhocks Sketch
Tanya Sviatlichnaya
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 29.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.6 x 0 inch
$393
Ruby Lily Sketch
Tanya Sviatlichnaya
Painting - 40 x 29.5 x 0.1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.6 x 0 inch
$393
Le vieux pot de peinture violet - 364
Yannick Bouillault
Sculpture - 13 x 15 x 16 cm Sculpture - 5.1 x 5.9 x 6.3 inch
$471
United for Hope
Sylvia Fournier
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
$359
Sweet pears
Alisa Onipchenko-Cherniakovska
Painting - 50 x 59.9 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,200
When I get there
Poonam Choudhary
Painting - 91.4 x 121.9 x 5.1 cm Painting - 36 x 48 x 2 inch
$1,400 $1,120
Spring still life
Alisa Onipchenko-Cherniakovska
Painting - 74.9 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting - 29.5 x 31.5 x 1 inch
$2,000
Still life with fish, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Alisa Onipchenko-Cherniakovska
Painting - 69.9 x 69.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 27.5 x 27.5 x 1 inch
$1,650
Summer flowers
Alisa Onipchenko-Cherniakovska
Painting - 69.9 x 59.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 27.5 x 23.6 x 1 inch
$1,650
"Still life with melon", Painting, Oil on Canvas
Alisa Onipchenko-Cherniakovska
Painting - 50 x 69.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.5 x 1 inch
$1,450
Magnolia - Selene
Poonam Choudhary
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
$550 $440
Vision de L’ange
Salvador Dali
Sculpture - 44 x 34.5 x 34.5 cm Sculpture - 17.3 x 13.6 x 13.6 inch
$25,579
Treehouse at waterfall
Peter de Boer
Painting - 65 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,806
Summer still life
Aloyzas Smilingis
Painting - 39 x 50 x 0.5 cm Painting - 15.4 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
$1,010
Souvenir d’un café parisien
Sergio Ceccotti
Painting - 65 x 80 cm Painting - 25.6 x 31.5 inch
$5,609
Mémoire de JingDeZhen
Feng Hatat
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
$673
Mémoire de JingDeZhen
Feng Hatat
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$561
Coup de soleil sur la Falaise Bleue
Thérèse Bosc
Painting - 100 x 80 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 inch
$1,212
Angel and peonies
Nadezda Stupina
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,356
Asters and dahlia
Nadezda Stupina
Painting - 81 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,468
Mémoire de JingDeZhen atelier III
Feng Hatat
Photography - 40 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$673
Planta de saló 1
Joan Hernández Pijuan
Print - 113 x 76 x 0.1 cm Print - 44.5 x 29.9 x 0 inch
$1,963
Bouquet jaune - série architecture d'intérieur
Jean-Claude Mège
Painting - 92 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,524
hana27_6919-222
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 34 x 44 x 2 cm Photography - 13.4 x 17.3 x 0.8 inch
$898
Mirror
Alisa Onipchenko-Cherniakovska
Painting - 115.1 x 100.1 x 2.5 cm Painting - 45.3 x 39.4 x 1 inch
$2,500
Hana07_F37
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 42.5 x 32.9 x 0.1 cm Photography - 16.7 x 13 x 0 inch
$1,066
Hana03_5036
Yasuo Kiyonaga
Photography - 32.9 x 42.5 x 0.1 cm Photography - 13 x 16.7 x 0 inch
$1,066
Un soir à Paris
Marie France Garrigues
Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$2,356
Carafe, coupe de fruits et assiette
Bernard Buffet
Print - 58.8 x 73 x 0.2 cm Print - 23.1 x 28.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,724
Pomegranates (from the Fruits and Flowers Suite)
Donald Sultan
Print - 58.4 x 55.9 cm Print - 23 x 22 inch
$4,000
Just Tender Peaches... (Photorealism still life painting)
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 100 x 2.3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.9 inch
$6,619
Petits formats Québécois (Série)
Kitty Sabatier
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 22 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 8.7 x 0 inch
$561
Fragments of poetry and silence no. 42
Yari Ostovany
Painting - 51 x 51 cm Painting - 20.1 x 20.1 inch
$2,028
Xogram - Polychromatic Fiori - Rose I
Hugh Turvey
Photography - 70 x 70 cm Photography - 27.6 x 27.6 inch
$1,178
The Hibiscus
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 100 x 90 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 35.4 x 1 inch
$3,254
Boîte n°1 - série boîte de conserve
Anne-Marie Renno
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$808
Sans titre - Fruit Défendu
Julie Ruelle
Painting - 116 x 89 x 3 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 1.2 inch
$3,927
Flowers-III
Stanislav Bojankov
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 18 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 7.1 x 0 inch
$168
New York Lounge Bar - Interior
Ruslana Levandovska
Painting - 76.2 x 61 x 1.9 cm Painting - 30 x 24 x 0.75 inch
$5,800
Soleil couchant (PM10)
Palmi Marzaroli
Painting - 32 x 32 x 0.1 cm Painting - 12.6 x 12.6 x 0 inch
$1,963
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…