Still Life - Resources for Artists

What is a "Still Life"

one question, some definitions and a few answers

Making a Mark: What is a still life?

I have been participating in a debate which is trying to find an answer to "What is a Still Life?" which I gather is a question which perplexes some artists. I've been exercising my research skills to find websites that help to answer this apparently simple question - and have found some very complex answers. It would be remiss not to post links to the information here as well - hence this post! Bear in mind though that this is a very long post - and I've barely scraped the surface......

National Gallery, London: Glossary - Still Life

Inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers, food and everyday items are painted as the main focus of interest in still lifes. The term derives from the Dutch 'stilleven', which became current from about 1650 as a collective name for this type of subject matter.

Tate | Glossary | Still life

One of the principal genres (subject types) of Western art. Essentially, the subject matter of a still life painting or sculpture is anything that does not move or is dead. So still life includes all kinds of man-made or natural objects, cut flowers, fruit, vegetables, fish, game, wine and so on.

NGA: Themes in American Art: Still Life

A National Gallery of Art resource on themes in American Art.
The depiction of inanimate objects is called "still life." Common subjects include flowers and fruit, tableware, books and newspapers, and musical instruments. The function of a still life may be straightforward representation, or the artist may intend to convey a more subtle, moral message. Traditionally, still lifes and still-life elements of larger compositions have complex iconographical significance.

Making, Meaning and Market: 17th Century Dutch Painting from the Hunterian Art Gallery

Origins and definitions of 17th century Dutch Still Life Paintings

still life: Definition and Much More from Answers.com

still life n. , pl. still lifes . Representation of inanimate objects, such as flowers or fruit, in painting or photography

Vanitas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the arts, vanitas is a type of symbolic still life painting commonly executed by Northern European painters in Flanders and the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The term vanitas itself refers to the arts, learning and time. The word is Latin, meaning "emptiness" and loosely translated corresponds to the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity.

Memento mori - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Memento mori is a Latin phrase that may be freely translated as "Remember that you are mortal," "Remember you will die," or "Remember your death". It names a genre of artistic creations that vary widely from one another, but which all share the same purpose, which is to remind people of their own mortality.

Still life - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Popular in Western art since the 17th century, still life paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture.

still life. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05

still life. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05
A pictorial representation of inanimate objects. The term derives from the 17th-century Dutch still-leven, meaning a motionless natural object or objects.

Realism. Art Words and Terms at Biddington's.

Still Life considered within the context of an explanation & illustration of the contemporary representational art style called realism. Biddington's Pedigree & Provenance provides definitions of art words and terms.

Still-Life Painting in Northern Europe, 1600–1800 | Thematic Essay | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Liedtke, Walter. "Still-Life Painting in Northern Europe, 1600?1800 ". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000?. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nstl/hd_nstl.htm (October 2003)

Still Life Painting Genre

Still-life Art: History, Types, Artists: Paul Cezanne, Frans Snyders, Francisco de Zurbaran, Jean-Simeon Chardin

Still Life paintings in Museums and Art Galleries

Collection of still life paintings and links to paintings in museums by still life artists

National Gallery, London - Still Life

Still Life paintings in the National Gallery, London

Jan Jansz. de Heem: Still Life: A Banqueting Scene | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Jan Jansz. de Heem: Still Life: A Banqueting Scene (12.195)". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nstl/hod_12.195.htm (October 2006)

The Getty - Still Lifes

J Paul Getty Museum - 20 Still Life Paintings

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - American Still Life

26 American Still Life paintings

Pieter Claesz.: Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Pieter Claesz.: Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill (49.107)". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nstl/hod_49.107.htm (October 2006)

Artcylopedia: Paintings by William Michael Harnett Online

William Michael Harnett [Irish-born American Painter, 1848-1892] Guide to pictures of works by William Michael Harnett in art museum sites and image archives worldwide.

Artcyclopedia - Balthasar van der Ast Online

Balthasar van der Ast [Dutch Baroque Era Painter, ca.1593-1656] Guide to pictures of works by Balthasar van der Ast in art museum sites and image archives worldwide.

Artclyclopedia - Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder Online

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder [Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1573-1621] Guide to pictures of works by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder in art museum sites and image archives worldwide.

Artcyclopedia - Frans Snyders Online

Frans Snyders [Flemish Baroque Era Painter, 1579-1657] Guide to pictures of works by Frans Snyders in art museum sites and image archives worldwide.

Paul Cézanne: Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses | Work of Art | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Still-life painting in northern Europe ? scene-setting and symbolism | Musée du Louvre

Opening days:Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Duration:1 hr. 30 mins.
Suitable for schoolchildren and teachers Suitable for groups

Still-life painting in northern Europe depicts familiar, everyday objects, and provides a unique point of contact between painting and daily life. But behind the mirage of abundance, the pleasing array of produce and objects, the paintings invite the viewer to discover a subtler message, exploring questions of appearance and reality, and the nature of symbolism.

National Galleries of Scotland - Still Life

Still Life paintings in the National Galleries of Scotland

Still Life - Online Galleries

ArtLex on Still Lifes by Artists Born Before 1700

Still lifes by artists born before 1700, with great quotations, and links to other resources.

ArtLex on Still Lifes by Artists Born Between 1701 and 1850

Still lifes by artists born 1701-1850, with great quotations, and links to other resources.

ArtLex on Still Lifes by Artists Born Between 1851 and 1900

Still lifes by artists born 1851-1900, with great quotations, and links to other resources.

Exhibitions of Still Life Paintings by Past Masters

National Gallery of Art - Luis Melendez: Master of the Spanish Still Life

Luis Melendez: Master of the Spanish Still Life
Luis Meléndez (1715-1780) is now recognized as the premier still-life painter in 18th-century Spain, indeed one of the greatest in all of Europe

Still Life Artists

Still Life Painters: Artcyclopedia

Still Life Painters: List of artists specializing in Still Life and index to where their art can be viewed at art museums worldwide.

Category:Still life painters - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Painters known for their still lifes

Category:Italian still life painters - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Italian still life painters From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Unlike the Netherlands, the painting of still life and genre painting did not attract as many practitioners among Italian painters. This is a partial list of still life painters active or born in Italy, concentrating on painters from before the 20th century.

Best Still Life Painters, Top 10 List of Greatest Artists: Still Life Painting Masterpieces: 1400-Present

Best Still Life Painters, Top 10 List of Greatest Artists of Still Life Painting: Cezanne, Jan Davidsz de Heem, Willem Kalf, Jean Chardin, Frans Snyders, Giorgio Morandi, Zurbaran: 1400-Present

Raphaelle Peale - The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Works of Art: American Paintings and Sculpture

Peale's tightly grouped still lifes are often permeated with a delicate melancholy akin to that which characterized the life of the artist

Snyders, Frans. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-05

Snyders, Frans. celebrated Flemish still-life and animal painter

National Gallery of Art - Pieter Claesz: Master of Haarlem Still Life

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Pieter Claesz

Van Gogh Museum - Still Lifes by Van Gogh

Images of Van Gogh Still Life paintings in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

William Harnett - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Michael Harnett (August 10, 1848 - October 29, 1892) was an Irish-American painter who practiced a trompe l'oeil (literally, "fool the eye") style of realistic painting.

The Getty - Giovanna Garzoni (1600 - 1670)

A biography of the artist Giovanna Garzoni from the J. Paul Getty Museum's collection.

Jacob van Hulsdonck

A biography of the artist Jacob van Hulsdonck from the J. Paul Getty Museum's collection.

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (November 2, 1699 - December 6, 1779) was an 18th-century French painter who specialised in still life and portraiture

Ambrosius Bosschaert - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (Antwerp, January 18, 1573-The Hague, 1621) was a still life painter of the Dutch Golden Age. He started his career in Antwerp, but spend most of it in Middelburg (1593-1613), where he became dean of the painters' guild. He later worked in Amsterdam (1614), Bergen op Zoom (1615-1616), Utrecht (1616-1619), and Breda (1619). He specialised in painting still lifes with flowers.

Balthasar van der Ast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Balthasar van der Ast (b. 1593-94, Middelburg; d. 1657, Delft) was a Dutch painter. Van der Ast specialized in still lifes of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lifes; he is considered to be a pioneer in the genre of shell painting. His still lifes often contain insects and lizards.

Artilim - Balthasar van der Ast

Search and browse Balthasar van der Ast paintings gallery, read Balthasar van der Ast biography and find information about Ast's life and work.

Jan Davidszoon de Heem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jan Davidszoon de Heem or short-form Jan Davidsz. de Heem (or Johannes de; c. Apr 17, 1606, Utrecht - before Apr 26, 1684, Antwerp) was a still life painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp. He is a major representative of that genre in both Dutch and Flemish Baroque painting.

De Heem was one of the greatest painters of still life in the Netherlands, combining a brilliance and harmony of colour along with an accurate rendering of objects: flowers, in all their variety; European and tropical fruits; lobsters and oysters; butterflies and moths; stone and metal; snails and sea shells.

Cornelis de Heem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cornelis de Heem (baptized 8 April 1631, Leiden - buried 17 May 1695, Antwerp [1]) was a still-life painter associated with both Flemish Baroque and Dutch Golden Age painting.[1] He was a member of a large family of still-life specialists,[2] of which his father, Jan Davidszoon de Heem (1606-1684), was the most significant.[3]

Luis Egidio Meléndez - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Luis Egidio Meléndez (Naples, 1716-Madrid, 1780) was a Spanish painter. Although he received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Meléndez is recognized today as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the eighteenth century. His mastery of composition and light, and his remarkable ability to convey the volume and texture of individual objects enabled him to transform the most mundane of kitchen fare into powerful images.

Artilim - Osias Beert

Search and browse Osias Beert paintings gallery, read Osias Beert biography and find information about Beert's life and work.

The Still Life Painter by Carl Larsson - ArtinthePicture.com

Carl Larsson
Style: Realism
Lived: May 28, 1853 - January 22, 1919 (19th - 20th century)
Nationality:Sweden

lines and colors | Sebastian Stoskopff

Sebastian Stoskopff (alternately Sébastien Stoskopff) was a 17th Century painter from Alsace, a German-speaking region of France

Art: Manet, Les Natures Mortes | Art and design | The Guardian

Manet's fruit and veg fancies Musée d'Orsay, Paris *****

Contemporary Still Life Artists

Still life: www.Contemporary-Still-Life.com --- An overview of contemporary still life painters

Still life painting is coming back in the picture. With this site we aim at providing a complete overview of contemporary still life painters, mainly on the internet. For each painter, you will find a short biography or statement, and some photo material.

Giorgio Morandi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giorgio Morandi (June 20, 1890 - June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter who specialized in still life.

Artist Profile of Janet Fish, Her Life and Work

The life and work of contemporary painter and printmaker Janet Fish.

Janet Fish @ Stewart & Stewart

Janet Fish was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1938 and raised in Bermuda. Fish received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Smith College and a Master of Fine Arts degree at Yale University.

A realist, Fish is well known for her richly executed oil paintings and pastels of glass objects, fruit and flowers.

Still Life Paintings, Landscape and Portraits by British Painter Julian Merrow-Smith

Still life paintings from internationally exhibited British artist Julian Merrow-Smith. Vibrant contemporary still life and landscape paintings from the artists studio in Crillon-le-Brave, Provence.

Emily Patrick

A collection of over 200 paintings by Emily Patrick sortable by genre and year
Genre includes still life

Colin Page Paintings » Still Lives

Colin Page Fine Art Paintings - Still Life Gallery
When viewing an image, use your N or P keys for Next or Previous image, or you may also hover your mouse over the right or left edge of each image

Still Life - Contemporary Exhibitions

Tate Modern | Giorgio Morandi Exhibition

Giorgio Morand 22 May - 12 August 2001
Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) is one of the most admired Italian painters of the twentieth century, known for his subtle and contemplative paintings, largely of still lifes. From the Metaphysical paintings of his early years, to the nearly abstract canvases made in the 1960s, Morandi engaged in a lifelong attempt to seize reality through the familiar. The consistency and intensity of this investigation has made him the quintessential 'artist's artist'.

Giorgio Morandi, 1890-1964 | Past Exhibitions | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Giorgio Morandi, 1890-1964
September 16, 2008-December 14, 2008
Robert Lehman Wing
- Learn more about this exhibition.
- View images from this exhibition.

Claude Raguet Hirst: Transforming the American Still Life

Approximately thirty of the artist's paintings were featured in Claude Raguet Hirst: Transforming the American Still Life, the first exhibition devoted to her considerable achievements at at the Columbus Museum of Art from January 15 through April 10, 2005,

Roy Lichtenstein - May 8 - July 30, 2010 - Gagosian Gallery

Exhibition page for Roy Lichtenstein showing at Gagosian Gallery West 24th Street. Includes press release, showing artists and associated publications.

Exhibition: ‘In Focus: Still Life’ at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles %uFFFD Art Blart

Art Blart Art blog by Dr Marcus Bunyan
Exhibition: In Focus: Still Life at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

British Council - Still Life Touring Exhibition (2002-2005)

Since evolving as an independent category of art in the seventeenth century, the still life has remained by definition an arrangement of objects defined by the codes of representation specific to a given time. Considered the lowest ranking pictorial genre in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the still life became the characteristic form of expression for artists involved in most twentieth century art movements from Cubism to Pop. Thoroughly transformed, the contemporary still life is derived from widely varying approaches employing both traditional and new media and techniques.

Wikimedia Commons - still life paintings

Wikimedia - the free media repositary

Category:Still life paintings of bread - Wikimedia Commons

Category:Still life paintings of bread From Wikimedia Commons

Category:Still life paintings of flowers - Wikimedia Commons

Still life paintings of flowers From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Category:Still life paintings of fruits - Wikimedia Commons

Category:Still life paintings of fruits From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Category:Still life paintings of food - Wikimedia Commons

Category:Still life paintings of food From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Category:Baroque still life paintings - Wikimedia Commons

Category:Baroque still life paintings From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

Still Life and 'A Painting A Day'

prominent daily painters of still life

A Painting a Day

A Painting a Day
Recent Work by Duane Keiser
8/01/2008
Broken Bird Egg oil/lien, 3"x2.5," 2008
status: sold Collection of Katherine Tyrrell

Postcard from Provence | Daily Paintings | Still life

Postcard from Provence:
a daily painting blog - a painting a day from the artist's studio in Provence

This is the Still Life Archive

Carol Marine's Painting a Day

Carol Marine's Painting a Day
SMALL STILL LIFE PAINTINGS IN OIL

Still Life - Tips and Techniques

Making a Mark: Flowers in Art: Tips and Techniques for working from life

This post is a summary of a number of tips and techniques for working from life when drawing or painting flowers.

Flowers:Tips on Flower Selection, Care and Arranging - by Chuck Law

Flowers:Tips on Flower Selection, Care and Arranging Artwork from Life

Making a Mark: How to create a lightbox for macro photographs of still life

A really good explanation for how to create the ideal lighting set-up for photographing small objects - for next to nothing.

Symbol Dictionary - Flowers and Plants

Symbols dictionary - flowers and plants. Add hidden meaning to your paintings by using specific flowers to symbolize love, jealous, and more.

Making a Mark: Night and Day - lighting your subject

I'm minded to try a series of simple still lifes with the same subject matter drawn during the day and then again at night. My first thoughts were about lighting. I used to think that I don't have the ideal set-up in terms of lighting but I'm now beginning to wonder what the ideal set-up is.

Making a Mark: The 9th Annual Pastel 100

You can see the Best in Show image at the top of this post - courtesy of Ron Monsma. This is a very complex still life of a large number of objects with different surface textures and shapes - all of which are rendered in a very convincing manner. I think the colour balance within the work is remarkable. In fact, if there is anything I could fault it for it was that it made me sit and look very hard at it and to try and work out why the composition worked!

The detailed interview in The Pastel Journal provides a very interesting insight into his current working method and approach to working out placement of objects and composition. I completely empathise with the fact that he draws with an eraser!

Still Life Photography

Still Life With... (Food Styling and Photography)

Behind the scenes of a Cottage Living Food Shoot
January 6th, 2008
Just stumbled on this little video of a California based food shoot… you know the ones, where the table is beautifully setup right next to the vineyard. While the story isn’t high on details, it’s still kin

Still Life - Drawings by Katherine Tyrrell

Pastels and Pencils - Still Life - Drawings by Katherine Tyrrell

Still Life - original fine art drawings in coloured pencils by Katherine Tyrrell