The Art of Still Life

A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate objects. Objects may be natural (flowers, food, rocks, shells, plants) or man-made (glass, books, coins, vases, instruments).

The origins of still life painting go back to Egyptian tomb paintings. It was believed that food objects and other items depicted would be needed in the afterlife.

We also find still life paintings in ancient Greek and Roman art. Greek vase paintings demonstrated great skill in illustrating everyday objects. And Roman wall paintings and floor mosaics have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, still life paintings in Western Art often contained religious meaning and a lot of symbolism as depicted within the objects used.

Clara Peters 1612

Vanitas are works of art containing symbols of mortality or the impermanence of material things. The Romans started using the skull as a symbol of earthly remains, often with the phrase Omnia mors aequat (Death makes all equal). These images have been re-interpreted for over 400 years now, starting with Dutch painters around 1600.

Hamen Steenwijck 1640Pieter Claesz 1625

Contemporary vanitas by Audrey Flack…

Marilyn 1977Wheel of Fortune 1977-78

Still life in other art styles like cubism and surrealism…

Lichenstein – Pop ArtDali - Surrealism

Picasso - Cubism

Hyper Realism by Roberto Bernardi…

Why would artists choose to create still lifes? • You create the composition…set

up the design elements

• Objects don’t move…you have time to study what you see closely without interference

• Easy to control the light

• Don’t have to pay models

• Can work with objects you enjoy…create your own symbolism

Cezanne, Still Life with Peppermint Bottle 1894

Vocabulary: terms you need to know… Exposure = the actual taking of an image and the amount of light need for proper capture of the scene

Aperture = an opening through which light passes…ex: pupil of eye and shutter of camera

Shutter speed = the duration of an exposure…how long the shutter remains open

Depth of Field = the zone within a scene that will record as sharp. The area within the DOF appears as sharp while areas in front and behind are blurry

Composition = the arrangement of the elements and principles of design…how the image is organized with an eye for unity and variety.

ISO = is the number used to express the light sensitivity of film or the digital image sensor. The higher the ISO the greater the sensitivity.

Bracket = to make several exposures by adjusting the aperture or shutter speed above and below the recommendation

Light meter = device used to measure the amount of available light…built into many cameras