Still life
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Magic Chandelier II
Tamara Bakhshinyan
Painting - 95 x 95 x 2 cm Painting - 37.4 x 37.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,340
HEtresEnCompagnie #05
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 60 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$391
HEtresEnCompagnie #04
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$357
HEtresEnCompagnie #03
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$357
Magnolia - Artemis
Poonam Choudhary
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
$600
Imsouane - Collection Morocco
Rodrigo
Photography - 25.4 x 19.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 10 x 7.5 x 0 inch
$1,395
Une Vitrine à Paris
Adriano Bernetti da Vila
Painting - 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
$4,465
Anemone per Anti-Pasti (Anemone of the Toreador) from Florals
Salvador Dali
Print - 55.9 x 38.1 cm Print - 22 x 15 inch
$2,900
Hotel Mermaid Club #5
Chris Rhodes
Photography - 8 x 10 x 0.2 cm Photography - 3.1 x 3.9 x 0.1 inch
$167
Croissant de lune de Paris
Joseph Piermatteo
Painting - 40 x 40 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 inch
$1,451
©0
Philippe Huart
Fine Art Drawings - 24 x 18 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.1 inch
$726
Suffocated self portrait I
Gergana Tabakova
Painting - 120 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 1 inch
$1,674
Mouvement de Défense
Francis Moreau
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,005
Autumn still life, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Evgeny Chernyakovsky
Painting - 59.9 x 69.9 x 2.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.5 x 1 inch
$1,550
Lech Ice Bar - Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 101.6 cm Photography - 40 x 40 inch
$3,885
Adolfo De Velasco - 1988 Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Print - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Print - 30 x 40 inch
$3,360
Villa Vera - Slim Aarons Limited Edition Estate Stamped Print
Slim Aarons
Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 cm Photography - 40 x 60 inch
$3,963
Composition (Nature Morte aux Verres V11)
Georges Braque
Print - 56 x 37 x 0.1 cm Print - 22 x 14.6 x 0 inch
$18,419
Take Me Out of the Blue #13
Ellen Brook
Painting - 61 x 61 x 5.1 cm Painting - 24 x 24 x 2 inch
$925
Flowers For Mom
Marina Dobrovolskaya
Painting - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$2,009
Feather Off Red
Sylvia Fournier
Photography - 28 x 43 x 1 cm Photography - 11 x 16.9 x 0.4 inch
$357
Broken celebrity #7
Zoltan Gerliczki
Photography - 64.8 x 80 x 0.3 cm Photography - 25.5 x 31.5 x 0.1 inch
$2,200
Arcane IV- L’Empereur
Richard Laillier
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 20 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.2 inch
$1,116
Arcane III- L’Impératrice
Richard Laillier
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 20 x 0.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 7.9 x 0.2 inch
$1,116
Matrix Index 7 / Red
Colleen Wolstenholme
Sculpture - 66 x 66 x 13 cm Sculpture - 26 x 26 x 5.1 inch
$1,786
Matrix Index 6 / Red
Colleen Wolstenholme
Sculpture - 51 x 51 x 8 cm Sculpture - 20.1 x 20.1 x 3.1 inch
$1,563
Matrix Index 5 / Silver
Colleen Wolstenholme
Sculpture - 66 x 66 x 15 cm Sculpture - 26 x 26 x 5.9 inch
$1,786
Matrix Index 3 / Charcoal
Colleen Wolstenholme
Sculpture - 66 x 66 x 8 cm Sculpture - 26 x 26 x 3.1 inch
$1,786
Matrix Index 2 / Gold
Colleen Wolstenholme
Sculpture - 66 x 66 x 8 cm Sculpture - 26 x 26 x 3.1 inch
$1,786
Etat second
Philippe Huart
Fine Art Drawings - 13 x 18 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 5.1 x 7.1 x 0.1 inch
$558
Bouquet solaire
Chloé Kelly Miller
Painting - 130 x 89 x 3 cm Painting - 51.2 x 35 x 1.2 inch
$3,237
Les caprices pinces princiers
Salvador Dali
Print - 55.9 x 73.7 x 0.5 cm Print - 22 x 29 x 0.2 inch
$2,500
Hellopandasan : Starlit Whimsical Revelations
Hiro Ando
Sculpture - 30 x 70 x 40 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 27.6 x 15.7 inch
$23,442
Flordali - Les Fruits : Poire Don Quichotte
Salvador Dali
Print - 56.5 x 37 cm Print - 22.2 x 14.6 inch
$5,023
HEtresEnCompagnie #07
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$313
HEtresEnCompagnie #06
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$313
HEtresEnCompagnie #02
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch
$313
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…