The Still Life Genre
Subject matter used in the still life genre has not changed much over the course of the last 400 odd years. Ordinary, inane animate and inanimate objects hold forth in this the lowliest of painting genres and yet artists continue to be fascinated by it.
During the Northern Renaissance when still life was pretty much established for the first time as a genre in art, the subject matter predominantly of natural objects, with flowers especially being painted with infinite care and expertise by artists such as Rachel Ruysch.
Rachel Ruysch, (c.1700) Still Life with Flowers. [oil on canvas]
Shells, fruit, foods, slaughtered game (fowl and hare), fish and wine were often depicted as palatable subjects along with inanimate objects such as pipes, books, goblets, plates, pewter and silver vessels. Along with these often found in the Vanitas still lives were skulls, bones, bibles, books, candlesticks and hour-glasses all serving to remind the viewer of his or her own mortality and deference towards a higher power.
Heem, Jan Davidz. (1606-84). Vanitas with a Skull a Book and Roses. [Oil on Wood]
Breakfast was another popular topic. Known as "Ontbijtjes" (the Dutch word for breakfast) the paintings depicted a good-looking breakfast.
Schooten, Floris van. (fl1612 -1655). A Dutch Breakfast. [Oil on Panel]
The materials were almost always oil painted on canvas or board and the composition of was a formal arrangement giving the appearance of casual placing painted as realistically as possible.
Jean Baptiste Chardin continued to deploy the mostly formal elements and realism of the Dutch and Flemish still life painting and used similar materials, during the 18th Century.
The next development in the genre came with Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and the dominance of colour and light over theme. Paul Cezanne who is considered the precursor of Cubism and Modernism in general, revolutionised the way the still life was depicted on the 2 dimensional surface. Cezanne used similar subjects as his predecessors but experimented with the painterly elements rather than attempting to create realism or a sense of depth.
Cezanne, Paul. (1902-1906) Still life with a Glass. [w/c and graphite on paper].
Along with the traditional oil on canvas and board, Cezanne experimented with watercolour, graphite, chalk and gouache and a combination of these on various papers.
Matisse, the father of the Fauves, is considered one of the key figures of the 20th Centuary Modernism. Fauvism gave primacy to expression and colour over realist renderings of the world as is evident in his still lives.
Subject matter used in the still life genre has not changed much over the course of the last 400 odd years. Ordinary, inane animate and inanimate objects hold forth in this the lowliest of painting genres and yet artists continue to be fascinated by it.
During the Northern Renaissance when still life was pretty much established for the first time as a genre in art, the subject matter predominantly of natural objects, with flowers especially being painted with infinite care and expertise by artists such as Rachel Ruysch.
Shells, fruit, foods, slaughtered game (fowl and hare), fish and wine were often depicted as palatable subjects along with inanimate objects such as pipes, books, goblets, plates, pewter and silver vessels. Along with these often found in the Vanitas still lives were skulls, bones, bibles, books, candlesticks and hour-glasses all serving to remind the viewer of his or her own mortality and deference towards a higher power.
Breakfast was another popular topic. Known as "Ontbijtjes" (the Dutch word for breakfast) the paintings depicted a good-looking breakfast.
The materials were almost always oil painted on canvas or board and the composition of was a formal arrangement giving the appearance of casual placing painted as realistically as possible.
Jean Baptiste Chardin continued to deploy the mostly formal elements and realism of the Dutch and Flemish still life painting and used similar materials, during the 18th Century.
The next development in the genre came with Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and the dominance of colour and light over theme. Paul Cezanne who is considered the precursor of Cubism and Modernism in general, revolutionised the way the still life was depicted on the 2 dimensional surface. Cezanne used similar subjects as his predecessors but experimented with the painterly elements rather than attempting to create realism or a sense of depth.
Along with the traditional oil on canvas and board, Cezanne experimented with watercolour, graphite, chalk and gouache and a combination of these on various papers.
Matisse, the father of the Fauves, is considered one of the key figures of the 20th Centuary Modernism. Fauvism gave primacy to expression and colour over realist renderings of the world as is evident in his still lives.
Matisse, Henri. (1925)Still Life with Pineapple, lemons. Nature Morte: ananas, citrons. [Oil on Canvas]
His materials also became more experimental although the subject matter stayed true to the traditional still life elements. Matisse used crayons, indian ink, pen and ink and litho to make expressive marks and line drawings.
Following on the Fauves the Cubists led by Braque and Picasso further pushed the envelope by fragmenting the objects in the paintings and expressing all the angles at once. Collage, invented by Picasso was often used as a medium by Braque.
Braque, Georges. (1909) Violin and palette. [oil on canvas]
Touted as the greatest still life artist of the 20th Centuary, Giorgio Morandi primarily focused on representations of vases, flowers, bowls and bottles. His style used very subtle gradations of tone and a minimalist expression. Oil on canvas is predominantly used.
Morandi, Giorgio.(c.1952) Still Life.[oil on canvas]
Pop artists Roy Lichtenstien and Andy Warhol made an entire art form out of expressing the utter mundane (the Cambell Soup tin is known throughout the world). Lichtenstien made use of his famous lines and dots and comic book excerpts to create his works.
Andy Warhol's use of materials radically changed our approach to art. using polymers and silk-screening (also gelatin prints and stitching) he created works that were unlike anything that the art world had seen before.
Warhol, Andy. (c.1976) Hammer and Sickle. [Synthetic polymer and silkscreen inks on canvas].
Armand Fernandez, or Arman started out as a painter who used only traces of ink left by different objects on his works, later he transferred his interest to the objects themselves and is now best known for Accumulations - polyester castings filled with different found stuff - from perfume bottles to to clocks, cutlery and even gas masks.
Fernadez, Armand.(1982) Long term Parking. [toy cars in cement]
Georgia O'Keeffe's return to the traditional take on still life further developed this genre. Her depictions of flowers are fluid and vibrant making line and rhythm more the subject of the painting than the flower.
Artists continue to use the still life as a means of expression and the fascination with our mundane, yet treasured, everyday objects seem to intrigue us now as much as it did 600 years ago.
Sources:
All images are [online image]. Available from: http://private.bridgemaneducation.com
Bryson, Norman.Looking t the Overlooked: Four Essays on the Still life Painting. Reaktion Books. 2013.
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