Still life
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L'Enfer me ment (31)
Richard Laillier
Fine Art Drawings - 20 x 15 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inch
Sold
Musiciens de manège
Jean-Jacques Kugel
Painting - 70 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Bodybag's Scream
Olivier Lelong
Photography - 60 x 42 x 2 cm Photography - 23.6 x 16.5 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Manège fantasmagorique
Jean-Jacques Kugel
Painting - 90 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
Sold
Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 128
Victoria Cohen
Photography - 67.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 26.6 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$3,200
Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 524
Victoria Cohen
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 inch
$2,300
Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 410
Victoria Cohen
Photography - 67.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 26.6 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$3,200
Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 419
Victoria Cohen
Photography - 50.8 x 76.2 x 0.3 cm Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 inch
$2,300
Hotel Chelsea, New York. Room 121
Victoria Cohen
Photography - 67.6 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 26.6 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$3,200
Lace Your Boots
Sébastien Boismoreau (BEUS)
Fine Art Drawings - 125 x 99 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 49.2 x 39 x 0 inch
$11,292
Pomegranate Delight
Sergey Miqayelyan
Painting - 24 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch
$280
Fruitful Elegance
Karine Harutyunyan
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$600
Nature's Richness in Red
Karine Harutyunyan
Painting - 60 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch
$600
Untitled
Noyem Khachatryan
Painting - 165 x 123 x 2 cm Painting - 65 x 48.4 x 0.8 inch
$2,124 $1,806
Cherries, apples and flowers
Natalya Mougenot
Painting - 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$503
Colorful Garden Bouquet
Aram Sevoyan
Painting - 30 x 24 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0.8 inch
$250
Still life with Armenian instrument
Anahit Mirijanyan
Painting - 42 x 36 x 2 cm Painting - 16.5 x 14.2 x 0.8 inch
$350
Series “Between Heaven and Earth” - turquoise blue
Nataliia Krykun
Painting - 150 x 200 x 4 cm Painting - 59.1 x 78.7 x 1.6 inch
$11,180
MUCAV
Stefano Mazzolini
Fine Art Drawings - 100 x 70 x 1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$559
Still life with yellow poppies and a cup of tea
Simona Tsvetkova
Painting - 40 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$839
Big Bang sur papier 21
Joëlle Kem Lika
Painting - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$470
Big Bang sur papier 13
Joëlle Kem Lika
Painting - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
$470
Serre-Tête
Emmanuelle Van Laere NEL-14512
Sculpture - 85 x 25 x 20 cm Sculpture - 33.5 x 9.8 x 7.9 inch
$8,273
Poppies and Two Jugs
Rakhmet Redzhepov (Ramzi)
Painting - 59 x 69 x 2 cm Painting - 23.2 x 27.2 x 0.8 inch
$783
Yellow Fantasy I
Aaron Labin (Grigoryan)
Painting - 30 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch
$558
Fresh Roses
Rakhmet Redzhepov (Ramzi)
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$671
Flowers 5
Rakhmet Redzhepov (Ramzi)
Painting - 70 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$559
Flowers on the background of the Sea
Rakhmet Redzhepov (Ramzi)
Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$783
Royal Roses
Rakhmet Redzhepov (Ramzi)
Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$783
Flowers 2
Rakhmet Redzhepov (Ramzi)
Painting - 40 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$671
Bouquet champestre
François d'Aubagne
Painting - 50 x 70 x 0.5 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.2 inch
$950
La palette fleurie du peintre
François d'Aubagne
Painting - 70 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch
$1,062
The magic of the evening
Iryna Bondar
Painting - 50 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$559
Eastern still-life
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 60 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$3,400
Looking for the Spring
Alexander Shandor
Painting - 60 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$2,500
Odalisque Hommage à Matisse
Catherine Clare
Painting - 65 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 25.6 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch
$1,565
Global Warning (Chrome Rose)
Emmanuelle Van Laere NEL-14512
Sculpture - 15 x 15 x 15 cm Sculpture - 5.9 x 5.9 x 5.9 inch
$3,801
Betrayal of the Queen
Arto Mkrtchyan
Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch
$450
Big League Chew
Jacinthe Rivard
Painting - 77 x 77 x 4 cm Painting - 30.3 x 30.3 x 1.6 inch
$2,644 $2,380
Calebasse striée
Françoise Danel
Painting - 114 x 146 x 3 cm Painting - 44.9 x 57.5 x 1.2 inch
$4,360
White tulips on a pink background. Morning, spring
Lilya Volskaya
Painting - 40 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch
$727
Blue still life with pomegranates and teapot.
Lilya Volskaya
Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch
$839
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…