Still life
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Bob Marley & The Wailers - Could You Be Loved
Juan Pablo Castro
Photography - 61 x 91.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 24 x 36 x 0.1 inch
$6,000
Pomegranate and Melodies
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 30 x 24 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
$150
Midnight poppies
Zhirayr Khachatryan
Painting - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$250
Nature morte
Mr Popart
Fine Art Drawings - 13.2 x 15.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.2 x 6.1 x 0 inch
$224
A l'envers, à l'endroit
Gaelle Beyaert
Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$436
Une pomme tire le rideau
Gaelle Beyaert
Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$436
Plate with fresh fruits
Guido Guidi
Painting - 35 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 13.8 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$464
Café et Cigarette
Francois Thevenet
Painting - 30 x 20 x 1 cm Painting - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$3,913
Pomegranates with cream background
Hasmik Mamikonyan
Painting - 35 x 35 x 2 cm Painting - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.8 inch
$180
Still life with fruits
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$380
Still life with flowers
Hayk Miqayelyan
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$480
Still life - musical instrument
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$380
It's Apero Time
Simon Richard Halimi
Painting - 39 x 41 x 0.2 cm Painting - 15.4 x 16.1 x 0.1 inch
$12,298
Still life with lamp and book
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$280
Field flowers with blue background
Hayk Miqayelyan
Painting - 50 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$220
The bottle and roses
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$4,000
Souvenir d'une nuit étoilée
Alione
Painting - 120 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$5,143
A New Perspective
Juan Pablo Castro
Photography - 152.4 x 203.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.1 inch
$6,000
Limiting (What You See Is What You Get)
Juan Pablo Castro
Photography - 152.4 x 203.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.1 inch
$6,000
Playful
Juan Pablo Castro
Photography - 152.4 x 203.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.1 inch
$6,000
Roses Near the Sea
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$2,600
Sunny a bouquet
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 80 x 60 x 0.2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch
$2,600
Nature morte aux fleurs et poteries
Gabriel Edouard Haberjahn
Painting - 59.5 x 49.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 23.4 x 19.5 x 0.2 inch
$2,683
Moet x Chandon wine bottle (brut)
Paa Joe
Sculpture - 46 x 20 x 20 cm Sculpture - 18.1 x 7.9 x 7.9 inch
$7,875
Sous la pluie (3)
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 29 x 29 x 3 cm Painting - 11.4 x 11.4 x 1.2 inch
$350
Sous la pluie (2)
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 29 x 29 x 3 cm Painting - 11.4 x 11.4 x 1.2 inch
$350
Sous la pluie (1)
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 29 x 29 x 3 cm Painting - 11.4 x 11.4 x 1.2 inch
$350
Couleurs d'automne 2
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 20 x 20 x 1.4 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.6 inch
$140
Des songes qui brûlent 1
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 20 x 20 x 1.5 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.6 inch
$140
Sirop maison 1
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 18 x 24 x 1.5 cm Painting - 7.1 x 9.4 x 0.6 inch
$184
Couleurs d'automne 1
Andisheh Moghtaderpour
Painting - 20 x 20 x 1.4 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.6 inch
$140
La banc des miracles - 1/5
Sophie Mayeux
Photography - 20 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
$201
Naturaleza Suspendida 4
Santiago Carrera
Photography - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,627
Elegance in the Garden
Denise Cummings
Painting - 22 x 15 x 0.5 cm Painting - 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.2 inch
$6,037
Paradise life or paradise lost?
Elena Shichko
Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,795
Red Pepper #1
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 31 x 19.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 12.2 x 7.8 x 0.1 inch
$265
Green and Red Peppers
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 30.5 x 19.8 x 0.3 cm Painting - 12 x 7.8 x 0.1 inch
$430
Armchair #1
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 62 x 47.8 x 0.5 cm Painting - 24.4 x 18.8 x 0.2 inch
$475
Bouquet de lilas blanc et pivoines roses
Gabriel Edouard Haberjahn
Painting - 36 x 49 x 0.2 cm Painting - 14.2 x 19.3 x 0.1 inch
$3,348
Nature morte à la lucarne
Marcel Mouly
Print - 31.2 x 22 x 0.2 cm Print - 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.1 inch
$391
Temkin's bar, NYC.
Samuel Ryde
Photography - 67 x 47 x 1 cm Photography - 26.4 x 18.5 x 0.4 inch
$463
La Mummia - Jack in the Box Theme
Mark Carpenter
Fine Art Drawings - 9.2 x 6.6 cm Fine Art Drawings - 3.6 x 2.6 inch
$89
Sans titre (Un poème dans chaque livre Paul Eluard) Ref BDNW2916
Alberto Giacometti
Print - 44.5 x 32.5 cm Print - 17.5 x 12.8 inch
$10,621
Eat by Chloe, London.
Samuel Ryde
Photography - 67 x 47 x 1 cm Photography - 26.4 x 18.5 x 0.4 inch
$463
Call Me Too Love Me
Samuel Ryde
Photography - 67 x 47 x 1 cm Photography - 26.4 x 18.5 x 0.4 inch
$463
Honore Club, NYC.
Samuel Ryde
Photography - 67 x 47 x 1 cm Photography - 26.4 x 18.5 x 0.4 inch
$463
Bouquet de fleurs
Charlotte Marie Weiss
Painting - 68 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 26.8 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$2,217
Desktop Tour-la-la-la
Miyuki Takanashi
Painting - 22 x 27.3 x 4 cm Painting - 8.7 x 10.7 x 1.6 inch
$335
Nature morte au béret de marin, chope de bière, longue pipe et livres
Hermann Haller
Painting - 69.5 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 27.4 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,205
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
$106
Fleurs, mouche et allumettes
Mathieu Trautmann
Photography - 108 x 91 cm Photography - 42.5 x 35.8 inch
$3,522
Cafetières - surréalisme et imaginaire
Alyne
Painting - 20 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch
$140
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…