Still life
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Manège fantasmagorique
Jean-Jacques Kugel
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Nature morte, Tiphaine
Louis Treserras
Painting - 80 x 62 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 24.4 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Bouquet de fleurs dans son vase Gallé
Bernard Buffet
Painting - 65 x 50 x 2.5 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 1 inch
Sold
Still Life with Fruits
Arturo Tosi
Painting - 39 x 48 x 1.4 cm Painting - 15.4 x 18.9 x 0.6 inch
Sold
Bouquet of dahlias
Annabell Mozer
Painting - 50 x 40 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch
€1,300
Hydrangeas in vase
Annabell Mozer
Painting - 70 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
€3,800
Bouquet vert sur établi
Baptiste Laurent
Painting - 95 x 98 x 0.3 cm Painting - 37.4 x 38.6 x 0.1 inch
€2,100
Vive la Bourgogne Libre
Romain Ozanon
Painting - 21 x 14.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.1 inch
€80
Velvet Sunflowers in a blue night light
Baptiste Laurent
Painting - 130 x 97 x 3 cm Painting - 51.2 x 38.2 x 1.2 inch
€2,500
Coffee tradition
Igor Sventitski
Painting - 60.3 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
€4,000
Cage / Sans titre
Meteo Meteo
Painting - 29.7 x 21 x 0.3 cm Painting - 11.7 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
€115 €58
Still life with bird and porsche 911CS
Ara Gasparyan
Painting - 35 x 24 x 2 cm Painting - 13.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Still life with pomegranates and pitcher
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
€724
Young flower
Sergii Shaulis
Sculpture - 104.1 x 62.2 x 33 cm Sculpture - 41 x 24.5 x 13 inch
€11,105
Blau i Taronja
Esther Olivé de Puig
Painting - 70 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€1,100
Bouteille champagne 63-23
Philippe Buil
Sculpture - 32 x 10 x 10 cm Sculpture - 12.6 x 3.9 x 3.9 inch
€700
Bouquet de santini rose
Romain Ozanon
Painting - 21 x 14.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.1 inch
€95
Abstract still life (1)
Vlas Ayvazyan
Painting - 24 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Café et Cigarette
Francois Thevenet
Painting - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
€3,500
Domenica in controluce
Samoré
Fine Art Drawings - 29 x 21 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.4 x 8.3 x 0.2 inch
€650
Naturaleza Suspendida 5
Santiago Carrera
Photography - 30 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
€400
Naturaleza Suspendida 4
Santiago Carrera
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
€2,350
Naturaleza Suspendida 2
Santiago Carrera
Photography - 30 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
€400
Naturaleza Suspendida 3
Santiago Carrera
Photography - 30 x 24 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
€400
Naturaleza Suspendida 1
Santiago Carrera
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
€2,350
L'atelier bleu
Giuseppe Piermatteo
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
€3,000
Fleurs
Innocenti
Fine Art Drawings - 20.5 x 14 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.1 inch
€393
Still life with meat
Igor Sventitski
Painting - 53 x 110 x 2.8 cm Painting - 20.9 x 43.3 x 1.1 inch
€2,800
Modern still life
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 60 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
€338
Dead Flowers In A Water Jug 2
Simon Findlay
Painting - 20 x 15 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Still life in blue and white
Bennett Vadnais
Painting - 43.18 x 27.94 x 5.08 cm Painting - 17 x 11 x 2 inch
€3,553
Still life with green bottle
Bennett Vadnais
Painting - 38.1 x 25.4 x 5.08 cm Painting - 15 x 10 x 2 inch
€3,924
Still life - apricots
Gevorg Sinanyan
Painting - 41 x 41 x 2 cm Painting - 16.1 x 16.1 x 0.8 inch
€435
Fleurs dans un vase, inspiré de Gioviana Garzoni
Catherine Clare
Painting - 114 x 96 x 0.2 cm Painting - 44.9 x 37.8 x 0.1 inch
€1,450 €1,233
Zapatos rojos
Ernest Carneado Ferreri
Painting - 60 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
€1,000
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…