Still life
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Cigar And Cordial Painting
Tony Rubino
Painting - 30.5 x 45.7 x 5.1 cm Painting - 12 x 18 x 2 inch
$1,648
Le Vase Bleu/The Blue Vase
Christiane Papé
Painting - 91.4 x 91.4 x 2 cm Painting - 36 x 36 x 0.8 inch
$2,000
Abstract asters (palette knife)
Mateos Sargsyan
Painting - 55 x 45 x 2 cm Painting - 21.7 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch
$600
Extended Seascape, Photograph, C-Type
Geert Lemmers
Photography - 81.3 x 81.3 x 2.5 cm Photography - 32 x 32 x 1 inch
$1,186
Lazy Susan spice rack, Painting, Oil on canvas
John Kilduff
Painting - 61 x 61 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 24 x 0.8 inch
$1,670
Protea Cynaroides
Griselda Duch
Photography - 32 x 45 x 0.1 cm Photography - 12.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch
$781
Extraordinary Wine Cellar
Christian Jodin
Painting - 40 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
$358
Nature morte à la pipe et aux fruits
Alexandre Rochat
Painting - 33 x 36 x 2 cm Painting - 13 x 14.2 x 0.8 inch
$1,465
Ballerina III
Tanguy Mendrisse
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$218
Horizontal Ginkgo diptych
Jan Sullivan Fowler
Painting - 30.5 x 121.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 12 x 48 x 1 inch
$950
La rencontree des astres
Jérôme Garrido
Painting - 100 x 65 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 25.6 x 1 inch
$816
Le temps des fleurs
Virginia Benedicto
Painting - 73 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 28.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,454
Propre à savoir
Benoît Tranchant
Painting - 100 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch
$3,355
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
$5,033
Taylor Swift's Exuberant Peonies and a Little Thing Called Love in a form of a Young Blue Dog
Joanna Glazer
Painting - 100 x 80 x 1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
$436
Le liquide rouge
Yannick Bouillault
Sculpture - 40 x 21 x 20 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 8.3 x 7.9 inch
$1,286
Daydream Nightmare
Philippe Huart
Painting - 120 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$10,625
Bouquet de tournesols
Percival Pernet
Painting - 77 x 58 x 0.5 cm Painting - 30.3 x 22.8 x 0.2 inch
$1,524
Bouquet près de la fenêtre
Louis Henri Salzmann
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
$1,290
Veules les roses Bretagne
Laurence Gasior
Painting - 46 x 38 x 2 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 0.8 inch
$1,174
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
$1,230 $1,058
Mujer Con Vestido Rojo Y Móvil
Ernest Carneado Ferreri
Painting - 92 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,454
Still Life with Aloe Vera
Ania Pieniazek
Painting - 80 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$993
Still Life with Apples and Coffee
Ania Pieniazek
Painting - 40 x 50 x 2.5 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 1 inch
$662
Still Life with Green Tray
Ania Pieniazek
Painting - 80 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch
$993
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
$1,547
Hongos y cuchara. From "Bodegon" Series
Dora Franco
Photography - 60 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$1,750
Still Life in Violet imparting Lemon shadows
Vanessa Cuthbert
Painting - 62 x 92 x 2 cm Painting - 24.4 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch
$3,310
Still Life in Blue
Vanessa Cuthbert
Painting - 59 x 59 x 2 cm Painting - 23.2 x 23.2 x 0.8 inch
$2,383
Peonies Evening shadows on black background, Peach Fuzz
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 100 x 150 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 59.1 x 1.6 inch
$4,474
Calm white, pink, nude, apricot Peonies, Peach Fuzz
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 100 x 150 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 59.1 x 1.6 inch
$4,474
White peony on a black background
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 120 x 120 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1.6 inch
$3,915
Window view 04 - Raspberry Lane
Low Bros
Painting - 90 x 70 x 4 cm Painting - 35.4 x 27.6 x 1.6 inch
$6,487
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…