Still-life painting as an independent genre or specialty first flourished in the Netherlands during the early 1600s, although German and French painters (for example, Georg Flegel and Sebastian Stoskopff) were also early participants in the development, and less continuous traditions of Italian and Spanish still-life painting date from the same period. [i]
Still life is a painting, drawing, or photograph of an arrangement of inanimate objects.[ii]
Although still life before XVI century was not substantive from the painting of that period some parts of still life occurs quiet often in the Egyptian art, ancient Greek and Roman wall paintings. The reasons of this art were of a religious nature, or to demonstrate ability of the painter and represent the generosity and wealth of the high class of society. Early Middle Age and Renaissance still life appears in religious objects such as icons, frescos, illuminated manuscripts and so on.
“In general, the rise of still-life painting in the Northern and Spanish Netherlands … reflects the increasing urbanization of Dutch and Flemish society, which brought with it an emphasis on the home and personal possessions, commerce, trade, learning—all the aspects and diversions of everyday life.”
At the beginning of the XVI century, the most popular theme was a flower but step by step in still life started appear animals and other objects. Development of oil painting also influenced on this genre and let painters depict objects of everyday life. Here gain popularity “kitchen still life” with all kind of food and cutlery. In the middle and the end of XVI century sizes of the painting increases and moral elements starts to appear.
XVII century brought a period of obsession with still life. Political situation and development of society build a need of decoration element and a representation of the status of the owner. Expensive tableware, overseas fruits and seafood. Vanitas paintings were developed with the idea of symbolism and impermanence of life. A “breakfast type” of still life, bodegón (this is a pantry item), representation of a particular type of profession in still life, attaching arranged elements to the flat surface this a new stiles which appears at the end of the century.
In the Eighteenth century, tendency continues. Dead elements remained popular especially a hunting theme after arisen at the end of the previous century. Still life was changing and increasing the variety of techniques.
In Nineteenth century it is commonly believed that magnificent changes happened during the Impressionists. Quoting Greenberg from Modernist Painting 1960 “Manetʼs became the first Modernist pictures by virtue of the frankness with which they declared the flat surfaces on which they were painted. … Cézanne sacrificed verisimilitude, or correctness, in order to fit his drawing and design more explicitly into the rectangular shape of the canvas” represent a new tendency in the art world. Not only brush strokes, understanding of light and colors are changing but whole concept and attitude began modify.
In Twentieth century “Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality invented in around 1907–08 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. They brought different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted”.[iii] Future development of the still life was with forsook of depiction of the object and focusing on the color, form and composition. “Found objects (sometimes referred to by the French term for found object ‘objet trouvé’) may be put on a shelf and treated as works of art in themselves, as well as providing inspiration for the artist. … As so often, Picasso was an originator. From 1912 he began to incorporate newspapers and such things as matchboxes into his cubist collages, and to make his cubist constructions from various scavenged materials. Extensive use of found objects was made by dada, surrealist and pop artists, and by later artists.”[iv]
In the twenty-first century, the still life changed its notation. Modern trends in the video art, computer, three-dimensional objects, installations and performances involve still life and mix with it. So this type of genre adopts the features of these new trends in art.
Bibliography and references
[i] The Metropolitan Museum of Art Still-Life Painting in Northern Europe, 1600–1800 [Online] Available from: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nstl/hd_nstl.htm [Accessed 06/07/18].
[ii] The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms (2 ed.) still life [Online] Available from: http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199569922.001.0001/acref-9780199569922-e-1614?fromCrossSearch=true [Accessed 06/07/18].
[iii] TATE CUBISM [Online] Available from: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/c/cubism [Accessed 06/07/18].
[iv] TATE FOUND OBJECT [Online] Available from: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/found-objectcubism [Accessed 06/07/18].
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow, painting 1930, oil on canvas [Online] Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Piet_Mondriaan,_1930_-_Mondrian_Composition_II_in_Red,_Blue,_and_Yellow.jpg [Accessed 06/07/18].
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