Still life
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Chrysanthemum Cascade
Kamo Atoyan
Painting - 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,000
Still life with wine bottles
Vlas Ayvazyan
Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$950
Violin 4
Arman
Fine Art Drawings - 25.4 x 20.3 x 1.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 10 x 8 x 0.5 inch
$1,500
The Etude Of Summer
Delyafruz Bagirova
Painting - 70 x 95 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 37.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,881
Oysters with blue striped drapery
Irina Trushkova
Painting - 34 x 42 x 2 cm Painting - 13.4 x 16.5 x 0.8 inch
$1,992
Bouquet aux tournesols
Pierrick Tual
Painting - 61 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,660
Purple flowers
Marieta Martirosyan
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$999
Dîner sur Saint Sylvestre
Baptiste Laurent
Painting - 130 x 162 x 4 cm Painting - 51.2 x 63.8 x 1.6 inch
$3,541
Still life #13, Maroc
FLORE Photographer
Photography - 11 x 9 cm Photography - 4.3 x 3.5 inch
$2,545
Table with Fish, Black Background
Pablo Picasso
Fine Art Drawings - 55 x 70 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 21.7 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$154,907
The beautiful spring flowers of my garden.
Lilya Volskaya
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$885
Portrait of Silence
Arman Hayrapetyan
Painting - 80 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$4,500
Des fleurs pour Salinger
Jeff Alarie
Painting - 61 x 45.7 x 5.1 cm Painting - 24 x 18 x 2 inch
$1,210
Still Life with Bottle, Knife and Fish
Emil Filla
Fine Art Drawings - 49 x 37 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.3 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$769,888
Still Life Flowers
Juan Jose Abella
Painting - 46 x 38 x 1 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.4 inch
$1,217
Series ‘Morning Flowers’
Ramaz Chantladze
Painting - 90 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,213
Les Coquelicots d'hiver
Aimée De Courtozé
Painting - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$354
II (Columnea)
Zornitsa Gramkova
Photography - 120 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0 inch
$1,151
Chiaruscoro of still life
Lisbeth Buonanno
Painting - 40 x 50 x 1.8 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.7 inch
$1,328
Bouquet et livres
Benjamin II Vautier
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
$879
Lemon yelow and violet
Luis Miguel Aparisi
Painting - 81.3 x 100.1 x 3 cm Painting - 32 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch
$2,020
Cuisine campagnarde
Françoise Bircher
Painting - 46 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
$387
Bonsai vase imari
Patrick Bergsma
Sculpture - 35 x 30 x 25 cm Sculpture - 13.8 x 11.8 x 9.8 inch
$3,817
Still life with smoked fish
Igor Sventitski
Painting - 40.3 x 40.3 x 2.5 cm Painting - 15.9 x 15.9 x 1 inch
$1,328
Still life in red
Marc Jesús-Vives
Painting - 89 x 116 x 0.3 cm Painting - 35 x 45.7 x 0.1 inch
$2,433
Still life with the Warren Cup 2
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 80 x 64.8 x 0.3 cm Photography - 31.5 x 25.5 x 0.1 inch
$2,200
Le retour du petit bancal
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 33 x 33 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 13 x 0.4 inch
$2,213
Blue Silence
Christine Connelly
Painting - 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch
$3,950
Sans titre
Irmgard Sigg
Fine Art Drawings - 69.5 x 49.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 27.4 x 19.5 x 0 inch
$885
Coffee pot with lemon tree in blue
Gordon Hopkins
Painting - 100 x 100 x 3.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.4 inch
$4,979
Nature morte au faisan
Raymond Guerrier
Painting - 100 x 78 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 30.7 x 1.2 inch
$2,545
Still life swimming duck with croissant
Gevorg Sinanyan
Painting - 37 x 47 x 0.6 cm Painting - 14.6 x 18.5 x 0.2 inch
$450
Roses Resplendence
Andranik Harutyunyan
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$750
Le fond de ma tasse de café (1)
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 30 x 24 x 1.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.6 inch
$210
The Violets' Celebration
Tanya Sviatlichnaya
Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 29.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.6 x 0 inch
$387
Sanctifiée V
Romain Liverato
Photography - 50 x 50 x 4 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.6 inch
$3,319
Still life
Danuta Dabrowska-Siemaszkiewicz
Painting - 50 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,541
Bouquet printanier en carafe
Alexis Louis Roche
Painting - 45.7 x 55 x 0.5 cm Painting - 18 x 21.7 x 0.2 inch
$662
Une poire et demie
Daniel Nadaud
Fine Art Drawings - 55 x 37 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 21.7 x 14.6 x 0 inch
$664
El resplandor [The shining]
Gloria Matarazzo
Print - 20 x 30 x 0.5 cm Print - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch
$536
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…