Still life
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Les portes de la perception
Giacomo
Painting - 120 x 120 x 2.6 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1 inch
$1,697
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
$1,026
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
$1,026
Bouquet de tournesols
Percival Pernet
Painting - 77 x 58 x 0.5 cm Painting - 30.3 x 22.8 x 0.2 inch
$1,483
Milieu de soirée
Lionel le Jeune
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.5 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.2 inch
$849
Bouquet près de la fenêtre
Louis Henri Salzmann
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
$1,255
On the Kitchen Table §13
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$1,358
On the Kitchen Table §19
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$1,358
On the Kitchen Table 20
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$1,358
On the Kitchen Table 17
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 30 x 45 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 inch
$1,358
Gravity Liquid 02 (Medium)
Seb Janiak
Photography - 110 x 86 cm Photography - 43.3 x 33.9 inch
$4,657
Monsieur le Professeur est amoureux
Michel Philippon
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,075
Magnetic Radiation 99 (Medium)
Seb Janiak
Photography - 120 x 90 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 inch
$4,657
Propre à savoir
Benoît Tranchant
Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$3,395
French School - Still life Lemon Summer Starwars - Oil Painting 21th
Bazévian Delacapucinière
Painting - 40 x 40 x 3.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.4 inch
$1,245
Fleurs blanches et pinceaux
Jean Jacques Boimond
Painting - 55.5 x 38.5 x 2 cm Painting - 21.9 x 15.2 x 0.8 inch
$1,506
Series: Omnipresence - Dyonisus VI. Hallucinogens 2 %
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,263
Series: Omnipresence - Wheat 27 %
Antonio Briceño
Photography - 50 x 50 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$2,263
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
$999
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
$1,200
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
$999
Fruits and Flowers Fusion
Hayk Miqayelyan
Painting - 60 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,050
Still life with fishes
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,050
Window view 04 - Raspberry Lane
Low Bros
Painting - 90 x 70 x 4 cm Painting - 35.4 x 27.6 x 1.6 inch
$6,563
Still life - Sunflowers
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 55 x 45 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,050
Field flowers and pomegranate
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$900
Still life purple flowers 1
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 55 x 45 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,050
Just Bananas... (Still life in hyperrealism)
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 80 x 110 x 2.3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 43.3 x 0.9 inch
$6,677
Composition Florale11
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,415
Composition Florale 10
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,415
Composition Florale 8
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,415
Composition Florale 7
Sébastien Couëffic
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,415
La rencontree des astres
Jérôme Garrido
Painting - 100 x 65 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 25.6 x 1 inch
$826
Les pensées sont des bombes
Willy Charps
Painting - 81 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 31.9 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,358
Le temps des fleurs
Virginia Benedicto
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,471
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…