Representing everyday objects, such as bowls, flowers, food and other everyday household items, was and is the main concern ofstill life artist. However, the mediums, styles and mediums in which still life art can be represented vary considerably.
At the beginning of the 17th century, still life became aindependent genre in art, but was considered less important than the historical and allegorical accounts of the time. Appearing as a distinct genre across Europe in the same years, it is impossible to discern who first developed and practiced the art of still life painting. The beginnings of the still life genre can be tracedPictorial traditions across Europe, including 15th-century Flemish Marian paintings, Italian meat stalls, and Spanish bodegas. Jean-Baptiste Chardin developed still life painting further in the 18th century, following the success of Flemish still life artists. Employing Dutch-style realism or softer harmonies in his creations, he created some of the most famous still lifes. With the development of art academies across Europe that propagated the hierarchy of genres, still life slowly fell behind and was practiced less than other genre forms. However, as Neoclassicism began to fade with the rise of Romanticism andrealismstill life has again become an important theme for artists such as Francisco Goya, Gustave Courbet and Eugène Delacroix. This marked the next stage in the development of the still life.impressionismEpost-impressionismand mastery of color and light on the subject.
I am20th centuryStill life was considered a subject in art along with others. The development of the still life closely followed the stylistic changes of the time, fromfauvism,expressionism,Cubism, Forpop artEphotorealism. Still life objects transcended even the traditional medium of painting and entered the art scene as art objects through ready-mades and installations where, rather than being represented, they themselves became works of art, as in the work of Arman and Judy Chicago.
The following list exemplifies some of the famous still life artists of the 20th century along with their paintings.
editor's tip:Nature Morte: Contemporary artists revitalize the still life tradition
Leading contemporary artists are reviving still life, a genre once associated more with the old masters of the 16th and 17th centuries than with contemporary art. The daring still lifes celebrated here challenge this historical supremacy and redefine what it means to be a work of nature morte (literally translated from French: "still life"). Whether through painting, drawing, sculpture, video or other media, contemporary artists have drawn on centuries-old tradition to create works of conceptual vibrancy, beauty and emotional acuity in the present. Structured along the classic categories of the still life tradition - flora, food, house and home, fauna and death - each chapter of Michael Petry's book explores how the timeless symbolic resonance of the memento mori has been rediscovered for a new millennium.
Paul Cézanne - Analytical Approach to Still Life
Paul Cézanneis considered a forerunner of cubism and modernism in general. His analytical approach to form,linesand color often led him to create his paintings from fragmentary brushstrokes, which continue to be explored by Cubists. In his still lifes, fruits, vases and bottles are placed on corrugated paper towels and often placed on top of each other. Instead of creating a realistic effect through the illusion of depth, Cézanneexperimented with pictorial elements. Unsurprisingly, then, he was referred to by many modernists as "the father of us all".
Featured Image: Paul Cézanne - Still Life with Skull, 1895-1900. Image via www.ibiblio.org
Henri Matisse - modern still life
More than a leader of the fauvist movement with André Derain,Henrique Matisseis considered one of the key figures of 20th century modernism.Still life with pewter jug and rose figurinecomes from its fauvist period, where bright colors and linear style create a dynamic composition with one of the artistssculptures. The painting, created in a tenement in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, shows the wall of his studio, which appears in numerous paintings from this period. Fauvism prioritized expression and color over realistic representations of the world, and in Matisse's still life this tendency is evident. The colors mostly do not correspond to the real situation, which makes his still lifes the first modernist paintings of the 20th century.
Discover more works by Henri Matisse at Widewalls Marketplace!
Featured Image: Henri Matisse - Still Life with a Pewter Jug and a Rose Figurine, 1910. Image via art-matisse.com
Georges Braque - Fragmentation of Objects
Continuation and deepening of Cézanne's experimentation with pictorial elements,Jorge Braquecreated some of his famous still lifes in the cubist style, fragmenting objects in paintings and presenting their different angles at the same time. Although he started out as a Fauvist, after meeting Pablo Picasso he soon changed his style and adopted Cubism as his main form of expression. During his career he created numerous paintings depicting secular subjects and made extensive use of them.Collagetechnique in their creations.
Featured Image: Georges Braque - Still Life with a Bunch of Grapes, 1912. Image via wikiart.org
Giorgio Morandi - Metaphysical and minimalist stills
Perhaps the most famous still life artist of the 20th century,Jorge Morandimainly focused on representations of vases, flowers, bowls and bottles. His style shifted from more metaphysical representations to a very subtle use of color, often reduced to various tones and shades. He is considered a thought leader due to his limited palette and minimalist expression.minimalist art.
Featured Image: Giorgio Morandi – Still Life, 1955. Image via arthistoryproject.com
Roy Lichtenstein - Pop Objectivity
Pop Art is definitely a high art movement in which everyday things took on unprecedented importance. One of the representatives of the movementRoy lichtenstein, created some of the most striking examples of this type. Famous for his use of comic points and snippets, Lichtenstein took the same approach in his still lifes.
Check out more works by Roy Lichtenstein!
Featured Image: Roy Lichtenstein - Still Life. Image via keywords-suggestions.com
Arman - collection of objects
Armand Fernandez, or justarman, is a French artist who began as a painter, using traces of India ink and paint left by various objects in his works, later transferring his interest in pictorial effects to the objects themselves. a member ofnew realism, Arman is best known for hisaccumulations- Polyester molds filled with various finds, from cutlery, shoes and watches to perfume bottles and even gas masks. Stacks are similar to traditional still lifes with one differenceThe findings are not represented here, but are present in the literature.in its plastic cage.
Featured image: Arman - Atherosclerosis, 1961. Image via italy24.ilsole24ore.com
Georgia O'Keeffe - Monumentality of Still Life
Considered the mother of American modernism,Georgia O'Keeffeis known for its floral and landscape paintings. O'Keeffe's subjects, motifs and painted forms changed with the influence of European modernism. Although many associated her depictions of the iris flower with the vulva, she rejected such Freudian interpretations. However, that didn't stop other feminist artists from citing her as an influence, and even Judy Chicago dedicated her space to her.to have lunchChunk. In addition to flowers, Georgia O'Keeffe also painted a variety of subjects such as skulls, fruit and a dead rabbit in her famous still lifes.
Featured Image: Georgia O'Keeffe - Oriental Poppies, 1927. Image via theredlist.com
Maya Kopitseva - Colorful to everyday life
One of the representatives of the Leningrad School of Painting and Honored Artist of the Soviet Union,Maya Kopitsevais famous for her still life, in which she is inspired by the colors and textures of fruits, dishes and other kitchen items. As one of the best-known still life artists, she created expressive colorful representations of these objects, in which the play on complementary and contrasting colors dominates the motif.
Featured Image: Maya Kopitseva – Still Life with Bananas, 1975. Image via commons.wikimedia.org
Judy Chicago - Die Dinnerparty
Judy Chicago'Sto have lunchIt is considered one of the most important works of art of the 20th century. Despite not being created using traditional techniques of the genre, this installation makes reference both to the tradition of painting still lifes and, more importantly, to the historical marginalization of women. The table is set for 39 famous women, and each place has a hand-painted china plate based on vulva and butterfly shapes, embroidered runners, bowls and gilded utensils. The purpose of this extraordinary still life installation is, in Chicago's words,"End the continuing cycle of omission that has erased women from the historical record."
Featured Image: Judy Chicago – The Dinner Party, 1979. Image via nyclovesnyc.blogspot.rs
Audrey Flack - negotiating femininity and feminism
Born in 1931 in New York City,Audrey FlackA woman's adult life has been defined by civil rights movements and second-wave feminism. Her paintings reflect these social conditions. Her still-life paintings include depictions of jewelry, perfume bottles, lipstick cases, and other paraphernalia of femininity. These photorealistic style paintings still provoke debates about whether she represents femininity, whether these works show a feminist attitude or both at the same time.
Featured Image: Andrey Flack – Jolie Madame, 1973. Image via bookslut.com