Still life
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Fashion and Fetish
John Michael Kearney
Painting - 45.5 x 45.5 x 2 cm Painting - 17.9 x 17.9 x 0.8 inch
€500
Uvas y manzanas. From "Bodegon" Series
Dora Franco
Photography - 80 x 64 x 0.3 cm Photography - 31.5 x 25.2 x 0.1 inch
€1,698
Sans titre
Davide Cicolani
Fine Art Drawings - 82 x 54 cm Fine Art Drawings - 32.3 x 21.3 inch
€1,200
Visage contre visage
Francis Coffinet
Sculpture - 35 x 24 x 2 cm Sculpture - 13.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
€2,200
Three Red Apples
Miljan Vasiljevic
Painting - 22.9 x 38.1 x 5.1 cm Painting - 9 x 15 x 2 inch
€1,019
Sans titre
Irmgard Sigg
Fine Art Drawings - 69.5 x 49.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 27.4 x 19.5 x 0 inch
€800
State of Being (pistol)
Chiharu Shiota
Sculpture - 50 x 50 x 30 cm Sculpture - 19.7 x 19.7 x 11.8 inch
€130,000
Floral on a Tile Table
Wayne Ensrud
Painting - 106.7 x 91.4 x 5.1 cm Painting - 42 x 36 x 2 inch
€3,882
Olympic Connections, Olympic Games Beijing
Pier Augusto Breccia
Print - 94.5 x 70 x 0.1 cm Print - 37.2 x 27.6 x 0 inch
€553
Contigo Vibro
Carol Tomàs Alcaine
Painting - 30 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch
€800
La victorieuse
Philippe Venin-Bernard
Sculpture - 13 x 22 x 20 cm Sculpture - 5.1 x 8.7 x 7.9 inch
€1,200
Dialogues of an introvert #6
Sameer Tawde
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 cm Photography - 30 x 40 inch
€2,912
Nature morte au navets et choux
Luigi Venturi
Painting - 34 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 13.4 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
€1,413
Les portes de la perception
Giacomo
Painting - 120 x 120 x 2.6 cm Painting - 47.2 x 47.2 x 1 inch
€1,500
Variation #4 (série méditations)
José Luis Lopez Lara
Painting - 25.7 x 37.7 cm Painting - 10.1 x 14.8 inch
€400
Eliza crossing the ice
Dwayne Wolff
Painting - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Painting - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
€1,456
1987 PLAY VII Ropes Branches Cordes Mezzotint
Katsunori Hamanishi
Print - 24 x 20 cm Print - 9.4 x 7.9 inch
€1,950 €975
La mécanique du cœur N 3
Hélène Zanet
Painting - 100 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,850
Nature morte gourmande n°1
Michel Petiot (Micha)
Painting - 146 x 114 x 2 cm Painting - 57.5 x 44.9 x 0.8 inch
€1,950
Nature morte à la pomme
Fernand Blondin
Painting - 26.5 x 34.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 10.4 x 13.6 x 0.1 inch
€1,685
Cuenco de trozos de calabaza
Alberto Romero
Painting - 50 x 53 x 5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 20.9 x 2 inch
€1,500
Scène d'intérieur
Monique Marchaisseau
Painting - 92 x 73 x 5 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 2 inch
€1,900
La veste du peintre
Guillaume Lavigne
Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€800
Still life of flowers in cases
Giuseppe Salvini
Painting - 70 x 100 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch
€580
Untitled
Jordi Maragall
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch
€1,500
1993 Red Still life with Malevich Rouge
John Dowdridge
Print - 33 x 26 x 0.3 cm Print - 13 x 10.2 x 0.1 inch
€495
Nature Morte au Bougeoir et à la Bonbonnière
A. PERRIER
Painting - 46 x 54.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 18.1 x 21.5 x 0.2 inch
€1,196
Nature morte aux fruits
Willy James Rochat
Painting - 16 x 22 x 2 cm Painting - 6.3 x 8.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,304
Bouquet de fleurs
Hans Gartmeier
Painting - 51 x 39.5 x 0.5 cm Painting - 20.1 x 15.6 x 0.2 inch
€978
Fleurs en folie
Louis-Claude Paviot
Painting - 59 x 46.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 23.2 x 18.3 x 0.1 inch
€1,033
Television Antenna
Domenico Purificato
Painting - 35.6 x 25.3 x 0.1 cm Painting - 14 x 10 x 0 inch
€500
Those 15 minutes
Mana Key & Doc.Lp
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
€1,500
Untitled 4 (Nature Takes Back series)
Stela Vasileva
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 42 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 16.5 inch
€660
A bird without a song
Haude Bernabé
Sculpture - 102 x 65 x 72 cm Sculpture - 40.2 x 25.6 x 28.3 inch
€9,800
Popsicle Horror Show
Tommi Anttonen
Photography - 70 x 100 x 1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.4 inch
€2,000
Pill head study in blue
Megan Mickael
Photography - 40.64 x 40.64 x 2.54 cm Photography - 16 x 16 x 1 inch
€1,720
Oriental Bathroom
Alexander Sergheev
Painting - 24 x 19 x 1 cm Painting - 9.4 x 7.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,300
Still life
Edita Broglio
Fine Art Drawings - 25 x 20 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
€800
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…