Still life
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Presents from my husband
Nora Ampova
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 20 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 7.9 inch
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La Comtesse de Monte Cristo
René Magritte
Print - 35 x 30 x 0.1 cm Print - 13.8 x 11.8 x 0 inch
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16th Century Aztec Fan
Albert Watson
Photography - 60 x 50.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 23.63 x 19.75 x 0.1 inch
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Woman With Eggs (Femme Avec des Oeufs)
Aurelija Simkute
Sculpture - 21 x 21 x 16 cm Sculpture - 8.3 x 8.3 x 6.3 inch
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Bodybag's Scream
Olivier Lelong
Photography - 60 x 42 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 0.8 inch
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Cycle des répercussions #8
Hélène Duclos
Painting - 46 x 55 x 3 cm Painting - 18.1 x 21.7 x 1.2 inch
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The Desert inside of Us
Tsvetan Lazarov
Painting - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
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Femme nue à la chaise
Casimir Reymond
Painting - 92 x 42 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 16.5 x 0.8 inch
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Adventure
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch
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No11 SPIRIT Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
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Souvenir de Camaret, Finistère
Claire Lise Monnier
Painting - 41 x 33 x 2 cm Painting - 16.1 x 13 x 0.8 inch
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Descente de Croix
Antoine Correia
Painting - 146 x 114 x 3 cm Painting - 57.5 x 44.9 x 1.2 inch
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Manège fantasmagorique
Jean-Jacques Kugel
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
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Nature morte, Tiphaine
Louis Treserras
Painting - 80 x 62 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 24.4 x 0.8 inch
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Bouquet de fleurs dans son vase Gallé
Bernard Buffet
Painting - 65 x 50 x 2.5 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 1 inch
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Still Life with Fruits
Arturo Tosi
Painting - 39 x 48 x 1.4 cm Painting - 15.4 x 18.9 x 0.6 inch
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Fruits and Flowers Fusion
Hayk Miqayelyan
Painting - 60 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$1,050
Still life with pomegranates
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$750
Huitre - série coquillage de mer
Alexandra Baudin
Painting - 20 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch
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Natura morta (Still life)
Gino Severini
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 13 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.1 inch
$11,655
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 apricots and duduk
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$600
Silence
Claire Denarie-Soffietti
Painting - 140 x 140 x 5 cm Painting - 55.1 x 55.1 x 2 inch
$13,653
Le vieux pot de peinture bleu - 324
Yannick Bouillault
Sculpture - 34 x 12 x 15 cm Sculpture - 13.4 x 4.7 x 5.9 inch
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A Little Pomegranate
Delyafruz Bagirova
Painting - 24 x 18 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 7.1 x 0.8 inch
$289
Ink album (Jug)
Zakhar Shevchuk
Fine Art Drawings - 28 x 20 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11 x 7.9 x 0 inch
$333
Still life with onions and hot peppers
Igor Sventitski
Painting - 50 x 70.5 x 1.8 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.8 x 0.7 inch
$2,886
Egg flowers in a red vase
Suthamma (Ta) Byrne
Painting - 110 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 43.3 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch
$2,964
Still life with autumn fruits
Shahen Aleksandryan
Painting - 30 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$360
Still life with fishes
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,050
Field flowers and pomegranate
Tigran Avetyan
Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,050
Still life with pomegrantes and dove
Tamar Nazaryan
Painting - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch
$600
Lágrima de Nube
James Bonachea
Fine Art Drawings - 99.8 x 69.9 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 39.3 x 27.5 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Interpretation of an emotion
Galya Popova
Painting - 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
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Transparence d'automne
Didier Caudron
Painting - 60 x 73 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 28.7 x 0.4 inch
$2,664
Chinese vase
Irina Trushkova
Painting - 43 x 35 x 1.8 cm Painting - 16.9 x 13.8 x 0.7 inch
$1,332 $1,199
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…