Still life
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Nature morte au cuivre, poterie et pommes
A. Bally
Painting - 44 x 59 x 0.3 cm Painting - 17.3 x 23.2 x 0.1 inch
$1,083
Nature morte fruit faïence et couteau
André-Laurent Kunkler
Painting - 23 x 26 x 0.5 cm Painting - 9.1 x 10.2 x 0.2 inch
$2,154
Départ pour la pêche, chapeau, flèches et pagaie
A. A. Alaned
Painting - 30.5 x 91.5 x 2 cm Painting - 12 x 36 x 0.8 inch
$1,921
Nature morte à l'arrosoir et aux cactus
William Goliasch
Painting - 46 x 60 x 0.5 cm Painting - 18.1 x 23.6 x 0.2 inch
$1,199
Noblewoman (The Red Glove)
Eliano Fantuzzi
Painting - 44 x 48 x 0.1 cm Painting - 17.3 x 18.9 x 0 inch
$3,979
Still life even under the sea
Emilio Cardona
Painting - 80 x 115 cm Painting - 31.5 x 45.3 inch
$6,252
Grande Natura Morta Circolare con Bottiglia e Tre Oggetti
Giorgio Morandi
Print - 35 x 52 x 0.2 cm Print - 13.8 x 20.5 x 0.1 inch
$72,753
All Shook Up
Terrece Beesley
Fine Art Drawings - 45.7 x 40.6 x 1.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 18 x 16 x 0.5 inch
$1,790
Main, étude expressionniste
Lionel le Jeune
Sculpture - 24 x 8 x 8 cm Sculpture - 9.4 x 3.1 x 3.1 inch
$1,137
A transience insight
Li Baoxun
Fine Art Drawings - 32 x 55 x 4 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.6 x 21.7 x 1.6 inch
$2,842
Still Life With Fruit And Vegetables
Luigi Spazzapan
Painting - 25 x 55 x 2.5 cm Painting - 9.8 x 21.7 x 1 inch
$3,751
Composition
Sandro Chia
Fine Art Drawings - 39 x 29 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.4 x 11.4 inch
$11,368 $10,231
Flower Pot
Fiorenzo Tomea
Fine Art Drawings - 48 x 34 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 18.9 x 13.4 x 0.1 inch
$2,728
Espace libre
Pierre Le Preux
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 40 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 15.7 inch
$364
Boca de Incensios
Manuel Quintana Martelo
Print - 64.8 x 96.52 x 0.1 cm Print - 25.5 x 38 x 0 inch
$682
Stealing beauty
Svetlana Tatarina
Painting - 40 x 30 x 3 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 1.2 inch
$1,194
Bientôt les premières neiges mangeront les couleurs; le paysage en profitait pour parader et revêtir son costume de fête, la joie était partout.
François Pagé
Painting - 20 x 20 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 inch
$227
Blau i Taronja
Esther Olivé de Puig
Painting - 70 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,250
Nature morte
Mariana Bunimov
Fine Art Drawings - 76.5 x 64 cm Fine Art Drawings - 30.1 x 25.2 inch
$5,115
The painter's house
Mariana MeryMax
Painting - 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$284
1 - La descente de Persephone
Mita Vostok
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$909
American Goldfinch
Kevin Frank
Painting - 30.48 x 22.86 x 3.81 cm Painting - 12 x 9 x 1.5 inch
$2,145
Tulips on pedestal table
Walter Bachinski
Fine Art Drawings - 76.2 x 55.9 x 5.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 22 x 2 inch
$5,200
Fenêtre sur le passé
Caroline Lazaro
Photography - 150 x 126 cm Photography - 59.1 x 49.6 inch
$5,115
Cerises sur étagère
Philippe Destors
Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,466
Pekingese Family of Dogs
Filiberto Vitaliano Rossi
Painting - 70 x 101 x 0.5 cm Painting - 27.6 x 39.8 x 0.2 inch
$7,957
Vaso di Anemoni (Red Anemones)
Arturo Noci
Painting - 50.5 x 65.3 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19.9 x 25.7 x 0.1 inch
$15,346
Landscape with a Moon Jar
Mun-Hyun Cho
Painting - 65.2 x 91 x 3 cm Painting - 25.7 x 35.8 x 1.2 inch
$5,115
Flowers and fruits
Nina Mozalevskaia
Painting - 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$5,500
Vinyl collection nine piece multicolour installation
Heidler & Heeps
Photography - 115 x 115 x 0.5 cm Photography - 45.3 x 45.3 x 0.2 inch
$1,842
Still life
Federico Zandomeneghi
Fine Art Drawings - 21 x 30 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.3 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$2,501
Cairn (Les Landes océan)
Raphaël Galley
Sculpture - 12 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 4.7 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch
$682
Bodegón eléctrico (Print)
Jose Manuel Merello
Print - 29 x 42 x 0.1 cm Print - 11.4 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$341
Coquelicots et soucis
Michel Vezinet
Painting - 35 x 27 x 2 cm Painting - 13.8 x 10.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,023
La magie quotidienne (l'atelier)
Alberto Giacometti
Print - 51 x 36 x 0.1 cm Print - 20.1 x 14.2 x 0 inch
$4,320
Frankestein - Jake in the Box Theme
Mark Carpenter
Painting - 9.2 x 6 cm Painting - 3.6 x 2.4 inch
$91
Gouache d'étude pour Gitanes
Pierre Fix-Masseau
Painting - 41 x 30 x 0.3 cm Painting - 16.1 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$3,979 $3,581
Stone pot with apples
Jan Nederlof
Painting - 30 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$4,149
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…