Still Life

What is a still life? A work of art which represents a subject composed of inanimate objects Subjects include vessels, fruit, game, flowers, books, fabrics, etc. allow an artist more freedom in arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of landscapes and portraits

The Ancient Egyptians painted stacks of offerings for the gods, in temples or tombs. The Egyptians were not interested in perspective, or in shading. They didn't care about making things look realistic. They just wanted to clearly show what each of these objects was.

Greek and Roman. These were more realistic than the Egyptians' efforts. - Still lifes painted (encaustic or wax) or tiles mosaics decorated walls and floors of homes and villas. -more effort in accurate shading and colouring than the Egyptians

The Renaissance (1400s) At this time still life played a secondary role in paintings of Christian religious subjects: life of Christ, saints, biblical stories, etc. objects often took on symbolic significance in a work of art As symbols these objects represent other concepts that common people would understand. For example, they understood that a white lily represented purity

Robert Campin, Merode Altarpiece, oil on wood, 1425

white lilies- extinguished candle- book with turning pages-

During the 17 th century, especially in Northern Europe (Netherlands, Germany, etc), the still life became a valued subject matter on its own. Decline in religious painting due to the Reformation (fracturing of Christian church- development of Calvanism, Lutherism) and beginning of iconoclasm. Based on 2 nd commandment (Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image), religious imagery was forbidden and often destroyed.

Pieter Aertsen, Butcher ’ s Stall with Flight into Egypt, oil on panel, painting marks transition from sacred to secular subjects -predominate still life with discrete biblical stories in the landscape- Flight into Egypt and Prodigal Son -turned to painting still lifes after religious paintings destroyed by iconoclasts who believed biblical subjects were sacred and should not be represented in art. This painting is an example of horror vacui – the fear of empty space.

JEAN BAPTISTE SIMÉON CHARDIN. Glass of Water and Coffee Pot, 1760 (oil on canvas) -Simple still life reveals simple pleasure found in everyday objects – genre painting -simplified- pared down colour scheme that displays skill in working with light, tone and texture

Vanitas Popular type of still life based on passage from the Bible, which says 'vanity of vanities - all is vanity'. The idea was that people love their pleasures in life yet it all means nothing because we cannot take it with us when we die. Vanitas paintings typically had expensive objects, musical instruments and wine goblets standing for pleasure - but also reminders of time passing such as a candle or hourglass, or of death, usually a skull. Mass deaths due to plague (black death) had people contemplating their deaths.

Adriaen van Utrecht – Vanitas, composition with flowers and skull

The 1850s to today The Modern artists (impressionists, cubists, abstract expressionists, postmodernists, etc.) rejected the Academies opinions and embraced art that reflected the modern world; art about their time and not about history or mythology Once again, still life was an acceptable subject matter

Pablo Picasso. Still Life with Chair Caning Cubist painting that utilizes simplification of forms, fragmentation of objects. First artist to incorporate collage elements; the lower left is a printed image of a woven chair seat. Work reflects the chaos of prewar Europe.