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Still life is a popular genre of fine art, the term is of French origin and means “dead water” in Russian. Such paintings usually depict objects that make up a person’s everyday life: books, kitchen utensils. More often still lifes depict fruits and vegetables, as well as flowers. The painters group them in organic compositions.
It is noteworthy that the main “characters” of such paintings can be both inanimate objects and living creatures. But birds and animals along with people have a secondary role in still life paintings. Their role is to supplement the main motif of the painting.
This genre also has an English word: Still Life, which means “motionless life. It is considered that just still life paintings best of all demonstrate the inner world of painters and their state of mind. The geniuses make the audience admire the simple objects, which in reality no one pays much attention to.
The reasons of still life popularity
After looking at the numerous photos of still life, it is easy to understand why this genre is so popular. There are several reasons and the main one is high aesthetics and decorativeness.
Still life painting is considered to be technically difficult to perform and it poses a challenge to the masters of painting. Another reason for its popularity is related to the possibility of its use in contemporary art.
Working on paintings, painters are forced to pay special attention to the structure of the composition, its volume and texture. The main goal is also complex and consists in the embodiment of multilayered artistic image, setting an intellectual challenge to the viewers, while at the same time fixing the real world.
The decorative function of paintings should not be forgotten either, they are often used to decorate interiors. Still life is confidently conquering the world – collectors hunt for canvases painted in this genre.
Famous painters and their works of art in the genre of still life
Many artists worked and are working in the genre of still life. Here are a few examples.
Giovanni Paolo Panini and his Still Life of Fruit and Flowers
The famous painter from Italy, who is also an architect of the Baroque era, made himself famous, including works in this genre. He created many paintings in the theme of the urban landscape, liked to capture their architectural fantasies, most often they were the ruins of old buildings invented by them.
One of his most famous works is Still Life of Fruit and Flowers. This type of still life has its origins in Holland, which since the middle of the seventeenth century has been a major center for the sale of tulips. The flowers depicted in the paintings were bought by people in different countries, as the real tulip bulb could only be afforded by the wealthy.
Vincent van Gogh and his series of still lifes with sunflowers
Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh also loved still lifes, sunflower paintings stand out among his works. The first series was created in France in 1887. The paintings depicted reclining flowers. The second series Vincent van Gogh created a year later, in Arles. The artist depicted a sunflower bouquet in a vase. Two of the paintings he painted were bought by the painter’s friend Vincent van Gogh. Today, the works of the Dutch artist, who was not very popular during his lifetime, are exhibited in the best museums of the world and cost fabulous money. The canvases are often auctioned off and collectors shell out large sums of money for them.
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers has been analyzed by several generations of art historians. The subject is known throughout the world, but many are not even aware that there is a whole series of paintings with this image, conditionally divided into two cycles.
“Sunflowers” became a kind of business card of the painter, they have an important role in his creative heritage. Van Gogh liked to write flowers, in his paintings he depicted the branches of flower trees – chestnuts, apples, acacias. And, of course, wildflowers, especially daisies and poppies. But most of all Van Gogh liked sunflowers, as he associated the plant with himself. The painter adored the color yellow.
Paul Cézanne and his experiments with the color spectrum in still life
Another famous painter, Paul Cézanne, also loved still life and often experimented with the color spectrum.
The artist rejected impressionism, in his paintings he tried to show not changing categories, but on the contrary, stability. Cézanne argued that the complex shapes that surround us are made up of simple ones. When depicting objects the painter emphasized their geometric basis, he is even called the forerunner of the Cubists.
“I will surprise Paris with a carrot and an apple,” Cézanne asserted, working in his studio on fruit still lifes.
Among his works created in the still life genre are Peaches and Pears, Still Life with Tureen, Still Life with Milk Pot and Apples. It is believed that apples symbolized the friendship between Cézanne and Emile Zola.
Cézanne’s still lifes are characterized by steadiness and stillness. The artist has long and meticulously arranged things for his paintings, they are magnificently composed and reminiscent of the paintings of the old masters of Dutch painting, and even surpass them in color palette.
Perspectives and the future of the genre
Still life as a genre has a great future in art. It is increasingly used in photography and design. New techniques and approaches to still life painting are appearing.
Advertising had an intense influence on the development of the genre. The desire to attract the attention of buyers leads to the idealization of objects. The demand for artists involved in the promotion and advertising of various products and services increased.
In the middle of the twentieth century still life became three-dimensional. That is how installations – spatial compositions – appeared. The modern trend is still life on a ceramic base. There has always been a close connection between tableware and fine art. Earlier painters depicted kitchen utensils, today many people wish to get into their collections decorated with painted panels or decorative plates decorated with still life. Foodstuffs are increasingly being painted on kitchen utensils. Only those masters who know how to work with clay and special dyes can cope with such a task.
The still life genre will continue its development and is unlikely to ever lose popularity.
