Still life
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Still Life with Flowers - Orange Bkgrd (After)
Bernard Buffet
Print - 27.3 x 21 x 0.6 cm Print - 10.75 x 8.25 x 0.25 inch
€478
Still life with pomegranates
Vlas Ayvazyan
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
€628
Tea Time
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 91.9 x 54.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36.2 x 21.6 x 1 inch
€1,391
Glazed terracotta jars with spoon
Karina Lara
Fine Art Drawings - 34 x 42.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 13.4 x 16.7 inch
€850
La Plume
Olivier Attar (Attoli)
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€680
Papier fleuri (Tondo)
Laurelle Bessé
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
€700
Atelier de porcelaine III
Feng Hatat
Photography - 60 x 9 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 3.5 x 0.8 inch
€400
The Angels Wanna Wear my Red Shoes
Linda McCluskey
Painting - 70 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,650
Que ma joie demeure
Corinne Vilcaz
Painting - 80 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€1,750
The Game of War and Peace: A Chess Match
Grace Diehl
Painting - 35.6 x 27.9 x 1.8 cm Painting - 14 x 11 x 0.7 inch
€991
A Ribbon of Blue and a Squeeze of Lemon
Grace Diehl
Painting - 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.8 cm Painting - 11 x 14 x 0.7 inch
€991
Series: Omnipresence - Dyonisus VI. Hallucinogens 2 %
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€2,000
Series: Omnipresence - Wheat 27 %
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
€2,000
Floral Opulence
Shahen Aleksandryan
Painting - 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€869 €739
Bottles in Old Jaffa
Dondi Schwartz
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
€1,300
Busto velato nelle terra laguna
André Laurenti
Painting - 92 x 73 x 3 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 1.2 inch
€3,500
Nostalgique
Zdenka Palkovic
Fine Art Drawings - 69 x 49 x 2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 27.2 x 19.3 x 0.8 inch
€1,600
Sunflowers Near The Blue Curtain - sunflowers still life painting
Nikolay Dmitriev
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,000
Still life with plums and grapes
Arayik Murdaynan
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€965
Still life with figs and grapes
Arayik Murdaynan
Painting - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,159
Still life with pomegranates and grapes
Arayik Murdaynan
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
€965 €821
Fruits and Flowers Fusion
Hayk Miqayelyan
Painting - 60 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
€1,014
Still life with fishes
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,014
Lampe butternut
Jean Valera
Photography - 75 x 50 x 0.3 cm Photography - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
€1,200
Light Peonies - impressionist sunny still life painting
Nikolay Dmitriev
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
€930
Still life - Sunflowers
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 55 x 45 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,014
Field flowers and pomegranate
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
€869
Still life purple flowers 1
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 55 x 45 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,014
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…