Still life
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Une île #5 "arbres dans la brume" n°21/30
Anne Eliayan et Christian Pic
Photography - 50 x 70 x 1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,006
Still life for bird temple #8
Mark Gaskin
Painting - 53.3 x 61 x 5.1 cm Painting - 21 x 24 x 2 inch
$4,000
Still life for bird temple #5
Mark Gaskin
Painting - 53.3 x 61 x 5.1 cm Painting - 21 x 24 x 2 inch
$4,000
Wrapping Bonbon Peint 'Bagatelle'
Laurence Jenkell
Sculpture - 80 x 27 x 20 cm Sculpture - 31.5 x 10.6 x 7.9 inch
$33,540
It Is Significant For Us To Have Met Each Other When We Did
Simon Findlay
Painting - 200 x 160 x 2 cm Painting - 78.7 x 63 x 0.8 inch
$2,460
Etude pour assiette de pommes
Stephanie Larène
Painting - 50 x 65 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0.4 inch
$436
Narzissen Duett
Gary Westall
Painting - 80 x 100.1 x 1.8 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.7 inch
$4,475
El Perdido
Patrick Beaulieu
Photography - 27.9 x 35.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 11 x 14 x 0.1 inch
$1,565
Vintage Abundance
Shahen Aleksandryan
Painting - 70 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$3,600
Still life with peaches
Aliya Abs
Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$2,817
Still Life One
Ricky Cohete
Photography - 101.6 x 152.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.1 inch
$6,500
Vase Vert 1970 Green Vase
Moon Shin
Painting - 33 x 24 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$10,062
Le jardin des délires, l'enfer
Bruno Mallart
Print - 129 x 57 x 3 cm Print - 50.8 x 22.4 x 1.2 inch
$5,031
Amber, Green, Aquamarine and Red Cotisso in Paracas
Lorenzo Vitturi
Photography - 38 x 25 x 0.03 cm Photography - 15 x 9.8 x 0 inch
$8,385
Painting in frame "Seven elephants of happiness/Still life with elephants" Natalie Shiporina
Natalie Shiporina
Painting - 40 x 60 x 1.8 cm Painting - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.7 inch
$3,242
The sound of the flower
Lana Taher
Painting - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
$1,286
Centaurées et Bignones - composition florale
Henri Mahé dit HIM
Painting - 100 x 70 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.6 inch
$2,935
Postulat nécessaire d'une cafetière
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 50 x 46 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 18.1 x 0.4 inch
$3,801
Les observateurs mécaniques et l'avion jaune
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 47 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 18.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch
$4,584
Question de gravité
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 40 x 38 x 1 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15 x 0.4 inch
$3,019
Bestiole incertaine
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 33 x 41 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 16.1 x 0.4 inch
$2,460
3 poires posant pour une nature morte
Sylvie Laliberté
Print - 63.5 x 48.3 x 1.3 cm Print - 25 x 19 x 0.5 inch
$1,230
Pomme pomme pomme poire pomme
Sylvie Laliberté
Print - 63.5 x 48.3 x 1.3 cm Print - 25 x 19 x 0.5 inch
$1,230
Chapeau de paille
Ludivine Corominas
Painting - 38 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 15 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch
$1,901
Just Avocado... (Still life painting in hyperrealism)
Nataliya Bagatskaya
Painting - 70 x 100 x 2.3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 39.4 x 0.9 inch
$6,596
Audemars Piguet - Silver White Chrono
Vincent Sabatier
Print - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$201
Three and half Pair of Chopsticks
Wang Huaiqing
Print - 75.5 x 78 x 0.02 cm Print - 29.7 x 30.7 x 0 inch
$5,590
Still Life with Apples
Zhang Wei Guang
Painting - 37 x 50 x 0.3 cm Painting - 14.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch
$9,503
Crystal Vase with apples
Zhang Wei Guang
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1 inch
$17,888
Magnetic Radiation 99 (Large)
Seb Janiak
Photography - 180 x 135 cm Photography - 70.9 x 53.1 inch
$7,929
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…