Still life
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Qui peut dire l'avenir de nos souvenirs ?
Sandra Encaoua
Painting - 24 x 32 x 0.1 cm Painting - 9.4 x 12.6 x 0 inch
$469
Vinyl collection nine piece B side installation
Heidler & Heeps
Photography - 115 x 115 x 0.5 cm Photography - 45.3 x 45.3 x 0.2 inch
$1,806
Please Look After This Bear
Gavin O'Donoghue
Painting - 39.9 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$595
open sea, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Andrei Petkevich
Painting - 73.7 x 114.3 x 2.5 cm Painting - 29 x 45 x 1 inch
$3,000
Coquelicots et soucis
Michel Vezinet
Painting - 35 x 27 x 2 cm Painting - 13.8 x 10.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,005
Composition with balls
Roman Rembovsky
Painting - 80 x 100.1 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,561
Nature morte bleu, jaune, rouge
Mascarade
Painting - 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$580
Bocaux anatomiques n°40
Stéphane Belzère
Painting - 50 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$6,251
Flying Dutchman
Andrei Petkevich
Painting - 99.1 x 149.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39 x 59 x 1 inch
$3,280
Skull, snake and rose
Karim Benchebra
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 40 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$1,340
Cairn (Plouescat, Bretagne)
Raphaël Galley
Sculpture - 12 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 4.7 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch
$670
Cairn (Les Landes océan)
Raphaël Galley
Sculpture - 12 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 4.7 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch
$670
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
$2,679
Mimosa 4
Adriano Bernetti da Vila
Painting - 60 x 80 x 4.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.8 inch
$4,465
Audemars Piguet - Silver White Chrono
Vincent Sabatier
Print - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$201 $100
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
$2,500
Espárragos
Dora Franco
Photography - 72.6 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.6 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
Peras con cortina marroquí
Dora Franco
Photography - 72 x 110 x 0.3 cm Photography - 28.3 x 43.3 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
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
$2,500
Fritillaria drenovskii
Lyuben Domozetski
Painting - 32 x 24 x 0.2 cm Painting - 12.6 x 9.4 x 0.1 inch
$391
Hotel Mermaid Club #1
Chris Rhodes
Photography - 10 x 8 x 0.2 cm Photography - 3.9 x 3.1 x 0.1 inch
$167
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
$3,000
Gangster Lady. Happy End
Mariana Gumeniuc
Painting - 100 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$11,776
Still life - plums and pear
Stepan Ohanyan
Painting - 30 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$250
La chute- Chapitre 102 (Diptyque)
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 110 x 110 x 1 cm Painting - 43.3 x 43.3 x 0.4 inch
$16,744
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
$320
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
$44,651
Pêches et poires
Stéphane Dufraisse
Painting - 46 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,567
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
$2,500
Face to Face (Hearts)
Salvatore Travascio
Painting - 140 x 200 x 1 cm Painting - 55.1 x 78.7 x 0.4 inch
$2,791
Div-Ine V
Magda Von Hanau
Photography - 81.3 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 32 x 48 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Soucoupe bleu. Rouille
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,563
Mur mais pas mure
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,563
Lewis Hamilton. MacLaren. Espagne. 1
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,674
Poules et poulailler. Sénégal
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 90 x 70 x 2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$893
Mémoire pour Herve
Jacques Tenenhaus
Sculpture - 70 x 21 x 21 cm Sculpture - 27.6 x 8.3 x 8.3 inch
$11,163
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
$3,200
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
$450
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…