Still life
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Grapes
Ellie Sass (Sassayiannis)
Photography - 30 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 16.5 x 0 inch
$358
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
$358
HEtresEnCompagnie #03
Corinne Bresson
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
$358
Some Type of flowers
Kristina Malashchenko
Painting - 90 x 70 x 1 cm Painting - 35.4 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch
$3,130
A Touch of a Feather
Sylvia Fournier
Photography - 30 x 22 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 8.7 x 0.4 inch
$391
Hope has Wings
Sylvia Fournier
Photography - 30 x 22 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 8.7 x 0.4 inch
$391
Parallèle
Jean-Paul Veison Marcelli
Photography - 21 x 30 x 0.3 cm Photography - 8.3 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch
$212
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-2
Anand Manchiraju
Painting - 68.6 x 52.1 x 0.3 cm Painting - 27 x 20.5 x 0.1 inch
$3,000
Silhouettes - 6904
Yann Gaillot
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$402
Silhouettes - 6903
Yann Gaillot
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$402
Silhouettes - 4102
Yann Gaillot
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$402
Silhouettes - 4066
Yann Gaillot
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$402
Silhouettes - 2078
Yann Gaillot
Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
$402
Still-life with anatomical structure and curious green eyes
Vladimir Kolosov
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 2.5 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 1 inch
$930
Etude Du Corps Humain D'après Ingres
Francis Bacon
Print - 88 x 60.5 x 0.1 cm Print - 34.6 x 23.8 x 0 inch
$21,242
Brunello di Montalcino
Vladimir Kolosov
Painting - 45.7 x 61 x 0.6 cm Painting - 18 x 24 x 0.25 inch
$1,500
No29 SPIRIT Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 91 x 91 x 0.1 cm Photography - 35.8 x 35.8 x 0 inch
$1,649
Memories of the fleeting encounters
Vladimir Kolosov
Painting - 50.8 x 40.6 x 3.2 cm Painting - 20 x 16 x 1.25 inch
$670
Template Reboot 14
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Template Reboot 13
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Template Reboot 12
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Template Reboot 11
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Template Reboot 9
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Template Reboot 6
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Template Reboot III
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Template Reboot II
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 37 x 37 x 1 cm Photography - 14.6 x 14.6 x 0.4 inch
$2,012
Hollyhocks and butterflies
Ottelien Huckin
Painting - 45 x 32 x 1 cm Painting - 17.7 x 12.6 x 0.4 inch
$1,784
Erotic Landscape 9
Wissam Beydoun
Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 50 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 19.7 inch
$1,200
Flordali - Les Fruits : Pamplemousse érotique
Salvador Dali
Print - 56.5 x 37 cm Print - 22.2 x 14.6 inch
$5,031
What are your Neighbours Doing Next?
Hiromi Sengoku
Painting - 60.6 x 45.5 x 3 cm Painting - 23.9 x 17.9 x 1.2 inch
$1,677
Live life as a mermaid!
Artemisia Fine Art
Fine Art Drawings - 64.8 x 55.4 x 5.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.5 x 21.8 x 2 inch
$1,280
The Peaceful Evening
Kamsar Ohanyan
Painting - 50 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
$559
No22 SPIRIT Series
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 100 x 100 x 2.5 cm Photography - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch
$4,070
Emmeline and the butterfly
Ottelien Huckin
Painting - 32 x 24 x 1 cm Painting - 12.6 x 9.4 x 0.4 inch
$991
Sein dévoilé
Emmanuelle Barbaras
Photography - 24 x 36 x 1 cm Photography - 9.4 x 14.2 x 0.4 inch
$783
Double standard 9. From the series doble standard
James Bonachea
Fine Art Drawings - 57.9 x 39.9 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.8 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch
$1,500
Du côté des cerises bleues
Philippe Vercellotti
Painting - 14 x 14 x 1 cm Painting - 5.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inch
$727
Flare
Yevgeniy Repiashenko
Photography - 152.4 x 152.4 x 0.3 cm Photography - 60 x 60 x 0.1 inch
$4,573
Flowering
Rossella Mercedes
Fine Art Drawings - 30 x 24 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0 inch
$145
Broken Myth (Diptych)
Michael James O'Brien
Photography - 76.2 x 101.6 x 0.3 cm Photography - 30 x 40 x 0.1 inch
$5,000
Plénitude du rêve - série les poupées
Pierre Jarraud
Painting - 65 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
$3,494
Nature morte au bouquet, livre, pipe et fruits
Piero Poraccia
Painting - 82 x 55 x 2 cm Painting - 32.3 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch
$1,248
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…