Still life
Save your search and find it in your favorites
Saved search
Your search is accessible from the favorites tab > My favorite searches
Unsaved search
A problem occurred
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
$729
Cascade d' Asie
Ludivine Corominas
Painting - 80 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$2,693
The porcelain cup - Italian painting still life + frame
Andrea Borella
Painting - 45 x 49 x 1 cm Painting - 17.7 x 19.3 x 0.4 inch
$701
Lemons & books - Italian painting still life
Andrea Borella
Painting - 80 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 31.5 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$813
Audemars Piguet - Pink Gold
Vincent Sabatier
Print - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$202
La table d'été II
Agnès Tiollier
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch
$3,029
Poissons à la Carafe
Christian Jodin
Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$359 $251
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
$62,826
Cafetière Bleu de Chine
Christian Jodin
Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$555 $389
Bouquet de fleurs, tulipes, lilas et pivoines
Alexis Louis Roche
Painting - 55 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$609
On the Kitchen Table 6
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$2,580
On the Kitchen Table 5
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$2,580
On the Kitchen Table 4
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$2,580
On the Kitchen Table 2
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$2,580
On the Kitchen Table 3
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$2,580
On the Kitchen Table 12
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 50 x 75 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.5 inch
$2,580
On the Kitchen Table 1
Nadezhda Oleg Lyahova
Photography - 90 x 135 cm Photography - 35.4 x 53.1 inch
$3,927
Déjeuner au soleil, Grasse
Claude Schürr
Painting - 116 x 89 x 2.5 cm Painting - 45.7 x 35 x 1 inch
$12,117
Eaux vertes au port Canto, Cannes
Claude Schürr
Painting - 73 x 92 x 2.5 cm Painting - 28.7 x 36.2 x 1 inch
$8,078
Brigantino (prova d'autore stampa)
Lucio Forte
Print - 21 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Print - 8.3 x 11.7 x 0 inch
$101
Silence
Claire Denarie-Soffietti
Painting - 140 x 140 x 5 cm Painting - 55.1 x 55.1 x 2 inch
$13,799
The Peonies
Kirill Postovit
Fine Art Drawings - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$438
Serving Spoon and Newspaper
Cindi Emond
Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$1,346
Parisian breakfast
Christian Jodin
Painting - 46 x 38 x 1 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.4 inch
$555 $389
Nature morte au vase
William Victor Aubert
Painting - 46.5 x 38.5 x 2 cm Painting - 18.3 x 15.2 x 0.8 inch
$598
Tulipes en black and white
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.2 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$886
Bouquet blanc
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 21 x 33 x 0.2 cm Photography - 8.3 x 13 x 0.1 inch
$886
Becs de Perroquets
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 36.9 x 24.6 x 0.2 cm Photography - 14.5 x 9.7 x 0.1 inch
$830
Tulipes
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,055
Pivoines
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$1,055
Bouquet de Gypsophiles
Anne-Marie Toporkoff
Photography - 40 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,111
Parcel for Piglets
Alexander Sviyazov
Sculpture - 23 x 17 x 25 cm Sculpture - 9.1 x 6.7 x 9.8 inch
$12,341
Selfie on a Smartphone
Alexander Sviyazov
Sculpture - 60 x 28 x 18 cm Sculpture - 23.6 x 11 x 7.1 inch
$21,316
Doorstep Seni
Alexander Sviyazov
Sculpture - 52 x 36 x 29.3 cm Sculpture - 20.5 x 14.2 x 11.5 inch
$14,585
Untitled
Hell'O Collective
Painting - 90 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 35.4 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$4,824 $4,101
Bouquet d’artichauts
Serge Kalinowski
Painting - 100 x 81 x 5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 2 inch
$2,862
Ink album (Still life)
Zakhar Shevchuk
Fine Art Drawings - 28 x 20 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$337
Window with Figurines
Anyck Alvarez Kerloch
Painting - 119.4 x 88.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 47 x 35 x 1 inch
$820
Dead Flowers In A Water Jug 1
Simon Findlay
Painting - 20 x 15 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inch
$280
Violon sur le buffet
Raymond Poulet
Painting - 65 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$12,341
Soviet Gadget
Alexander (Sandro) Antadze
Painting - 60 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$2,693
Fleurs au pichet
Stéphanie Caroline Guerzoni
Painting - 41 x 33 x 2 cm Painting - 16.1 x 13 x 0.8 inch
$575
The Symphony Of Summer
Delyafruz Bagirova
Painting - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,580
L'atelier bleu
Giuseppe Piermatteo
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,366
Grandma divers XVII
Alain Schroeder
Photography - 120 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0 inch
$2,805
Quand la vie chante
Corinne Vilcaz
Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch
$3,254
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…