Still life
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Spring bouquet
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 40 x 50 x 0.2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,000
Still life with a yellow plate
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 60 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$1,200
Still life with peaches
Aliya Abs
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$2,819
Vie sur l ile de Burano. Italie
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 60 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,566
Japanese cherry
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 65 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,800
Near the window
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 42 x 72 x 0.2 cm Painting - 16.5 x 28.3 x 0.1 inch
$1,400
Fiery sunflowers
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 72 x 52 x 0.2 cm Painting - 28.3 x 20.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,800
Vase Vert 1970 Green Vase
Moon Shin
Painting - 33 x 24 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$10,066
Moroccan Pop Art
Annaelle Myriam Chaib
Painting - 46 x 36 x 5 cm Painting - 18.1 x 14.2 x 2 inch
$895
Etude pour assiette de pommes
Stephanie Larène
Painting - 50 x 65 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.4 inch
$436
Amber, Green, Aquamarine and Red Cotisso in Paracas
Lorenzo Vitturi
Photography - 38 x 25 x 0.03 cm Photography - 15 x 9.8 x 0 inch
$8,388
Still Life with Decanter
Yuriy Demiyanov
Painting - 60 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$3,915
Still Life with Lilies
Yuriy Demiyanov
Painting - 50 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$3,020
Tangerines and Candy
Yuriy Demiyanov
Painting - 50 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$2,684
Window with Figurines
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 119.4 x 88.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 47 x 35 x 1 inch
$940
Salmon for Lunch
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 38.1 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm Painting - 15 x 18 x 1 inch
$650
Blue Gummy Bear
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 40.6 x 30.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 16 x 12 x 0.2 inch
$530
Orange Gummy Bear
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 38.1 x 27.9 x 0.3 cm Painting - 15 x 11 x 0.1 inch
$540
Blue Thistle and Yellow Tulip
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 99.1 x 78.7 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39 x 31 x 1 inch
$1,030
WaBasAtt
Olivier Attar (Attoli)
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$761
Rosh
Olivier Attar (Attoli)
Photography - 126 x 95 x 0.1 cm Photography - 49.6 x 37.4 x 0 inch
$1,063
Still Life with Salad and a Bunch of Radishes
Filippo De Pisis
Painting - 66.5 x 87 x 0.5 cm Painting - 26.2 x 34.3 x 0.2 inch
$62,634
Chaos. From Lullaby Series
Salvatore Arnone
Photography - 127 x 88.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 50 x 35 x 0.1 inch
$2,500
Le jardin des délires, l'enfer
Bruno Mallart
Print - 129 x 57 x 3 cm Print - 50.8 x 22.4 x 1.2 inch
$5,033
Granny Shura
Alexander Sviyazov
Sculpture - 55.5 x 31 x 19.5 cm Sculpture - 21.9 x 12.2 x 7.7 inch
$12,303
Un giorno qualunque
Alexander Daniloff
Painting - 32 x 28 x 0.5 cm Painting - 12.6 x 11 x 0.2 inch
$363
Catalunya 1
Fernando Alday
Fine Art Drawings - 29.5 x 39.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.6 x 15.6 inch
$280
Rien de grave
Eugenia Jaeger
Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 59 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 23.2 inch
$783
“Donald” Green
Ruslan Kolomiyets
Painting - 50 x 70 x 0.2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch
$1,454
Centaurées et Bignones - composition florale
Henri Mahé dit HIM
Painting - 100 x 70 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.6 inch
$2,936
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
$727
Cream rose on dark brown background
Elena Podmarkova
Painting - 30.5 x 30.5 x 2 cm Painting - 12 x 12 x 0.8 inch
$760
Still life with lilacs
Simon Kozhin
Painting - 60 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$10,625
Still life with plainair
Simon Kozhin
Painting - 75 x 87.5 x 2 cm Painting - 29.5 x 34.4 x 0.8 inch
$9,500
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
Mihail (Chemiakin)
Konstantin Bokov
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 1 inch
$3,500
Chapeau de paille
Ludivine Corominas
Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,901
Une histoire sans fin
Sophie Dumont
Painting - 70 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$4,116
Vase of Flowers
Antonio Feltrinelli
Painting - 49 x 39 x 0.5 cm Painting - 19.3 x 15.4 x 0.2 inch
$4,026
Letters Of A Traveler
Tako Chanchaleishvili
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 36 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 14.2 x 0 inch
$727
Georgian Motifs
Tako Chanchaleishvili
Fine Art Drawings - 14.5 x 22 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.7 x 8.7 x 0 inch
$839
Petit déjeuner à la française
Marine De Quénetain
Painting - 140 x 120 x 2 cm Painting - 55.1 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch
$5,480
Natura morta olandese
Alexander Daniloff
Painting - 29.5 x 21 x 0.3 cm Painting - 11.6 x 8.3 x 0.1 inch
$173 $148
Natura morta con vespa
Alexander Daniloff
Painting - 21 x 30 x 0.1 cm Painting - 8.3 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$190
Three and half Pair of Chopsticks
Wang Huaiqing
Print - 75.5 x 78 x 0.02 cm Print - 29.7 x 30.7 x 0 inch
$5,592
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…