Still life in painting - images of static inanimate objects combined into a single ensemble. A still life can be presented as an independent canvas, but sometimes it becomes part of the composition of a genre scene or an entire painting.
What is still life?
Such painting is expressed in the subjective attitude of a person to the world. This shows the master's inherent understanding of beauty, which becomes the embodiment of social values and the aesthetic ideal of the time. Still life in painting gradually transformed into a separate significant genre. This process took more than one hundred years, and each new generation of artists understood canvases and color according to the trends of the era.
The role of still life in the composition of a painting is never limited to simple information, an accidental addition to the main content. Depending on historical conditions and social demands, objects can take a more or less active part in creating a composition or a hotel image, obscuring one or another goal. Still life in painting as an independent genre is designed to reliably convey the beauty of things that daily surround a person.
Sometimes a single detail or element suddenly takes on a deep meaning, gets its own meaning and sound.
Story
As an old and revered genre, still life in painting knew its ups and downs. Severe, ascetic and minimalistic helped to create immortal monumental generalized lofty heroic images. Sculptors with extraordinary expressiveness enjoyed the image of individual objects. Types of still life in painting and all sorts of classifications originated during the formation of art history, although the canvases existed long before the writing of the first textbook.
Icon painting traditions and still lifes
In ancient Russian icon painting, those few things that the artist dared to introduce into the strict laconism of canonical works played a big role. They contribute to the manifestation of everything immediate and demonstrate the expression of feelings in a work devoted to an abstract or mythological plot.
Types of still life in painting exist separately from icon-painting works, although a strict canon does not prohibit the depiction of some objects inherent in the genre.
still life renaissance
However, the works of the 15th-16th centuries play an important role in the Renaissance. The painter first drew attention to the world around him, sought to determine the significance of each element in the service of mankind.
Modern painting, still life as a popular and beloved genre originated in the Tricento period. Household items acquired a certain nobility and significance of the owner they served. On large canvases, a still life, as a rule, looks very modest and discreet - a glass jar of water, the silver of an elegant vase or delicate lilies on thin stems often huddled in a dark corner of the picture, like poor and forgotten relatives.
Nevertheless, in the image of beautiful and close things there was so much love in poetic form that modern painting, still life and its role in it already timidly looked through gaps in landscapes and heavy curtains of genre scenes.
Crucial moment
Subjects gained a real element in paintings and a new meaning in the 17th century - an era when still life with flowers prevailed and dominated. Painting of this kind has gained numerous admirers among the nobility and the clergy. In complex compositions with a pronounced literary storyline, the scenes got their place along with the main characters. Analyzing the works of the era, it is easy to see that the important role of the still life was similarly manifested in literature, theater and sculpture. Things began to "act" and "live" in these works - they were shown as the main characters, demonstrating the best and most beneficial aspects of objects.
Art objects made by hardworking and talented craftsmen bear the personal imprint of thoughts, desires, and inclinations of a particular person. Painting better than all psychological tests helps to track the psycho-emotional state and achieve inner harmony and integrity.
Things faithfully serve a person, adopting his enthusiasm for household items and inspiring owners to purchase new beautiful, elegant little things.
Flemish Renaissance
Gouache painting, still life as a genre people did not immediately accept. The history of the emergence, development and widespread implementation of various ideas and principles serves as a reminder of the constant development of thought. Still life became famous and fashionable in the middle of the 17th century. The genre began in the Netherlands, bright and festive Flanders, where nature itself is conducive to beauty and fun.
Gouache painting, still lifes flourished in a time of grandiose changes, a complete change of political, social and religious institutions.
flanders current
The bourgeois direction of the development of Flanders was a novelty and progress for the whole of Europe. Changes in political life led to similar innovations in culture - the horizons that opened up before artists were no longer limited to religious prohibitions and were not supported by appropriate traditions.
Still life became the flagship of the new art, which glorified everything natural, bright and beautiful. The strict canons of Catholicism no longer held back the flight of imagination and curiosity of painters, and therefore science and technology began to develop along with art.
Ordinary everyday things and objects, previously considered base and unworthy of mention, suddenly rose to the objects of close study. Decorative painting, still life and landscapes have become a real mirror of life - daily routine, diet, culture, ideas about beauty.
Genre properties
It was from here, from a conscious, in-depth study of the surrounding world, that a separate genre of everyday painting, landscape, and still life developed.
Art, which acquired certain canons in the 17th century, determined the main quality of the genre. The picture, dedicated to the world of things, describes the main properties inherent in the objects that surround a person, shows the attitude of the master and his hypothetical contemporary to what is shown, expresses the nature and completeness of knowledge about reality. The artist necessarily conveyed the material existence of things, their volume, weight, textures, colors, the functional purpose of household items and their vital connection with human activity.
Tasks and problems of still life
Decorative painting, still life and domestic scenes absorbed the new trends of the era - the departure from the canons and the simultaneous preservation of the conservative naturalism of the image.
The still life of the revolutionary era during the complete victory of the bourgeoisie reflects the artist's respect for the new forms of national life of his compatriots, respect for the work of simple artisans, admiration for the beautiful images of beauty.
The problems and tasks of the genre formulated in the 17th century were not generally discussed in European schools until the middle of the 19th century. Meanwhile, the artists constantly set themselves new and new tasks, and did not continue to mechanically reproduce ready-made compositional solutions and color schemes.
Modern canvases
Photos of still lifes for painting, prepared in modern studios, clearly demonstrate the difference between the perception of the world by a contemporary and a person of the Middle Ages. The dynamics of objects today exceeds all conceivable limits, and the statics of objects was the norm for that time. Color combinations of the 17th century are characterized by brightness and purity of color. Saturated shades harmoniously fit into the composition and emphasize the idea and idea of the artist. The absence of any canons did not have the best effect on still lifes of the 20th and 21st centuries, sometimes striking the imagination with their ugliness or deliberate variegation.
Methods for solving the problems of still life are rapidly changing every decade, methods and techniques do not keep up with the imagination of recognized and not so masters.
The value of today's paintings lies in the expression of reality through the eyes of contemporary artists; through the embodiment on the canvas, new worlds arise that can tell a lot about their creators to the people of the future.
Influence of Impressionism
The next milestone in the history of still lifes was impressionism. The whole evolution of the direction was reflected in the compositions through colors, technique and understanding of space. The last romantics of the millennium transferred life to the canvas as it is - quick, bright strokes and expressive details became the cornerstones of style.
Paintings, still lifes of modern artists certainly bear the imprint of impressionist inspirers through color, ways and techniques of image.
The departure from the standard canons of classicism - three planes, the central composition and historical characters - allowed the artists to develop their own perception of color and light, as well as to demonstrate the free flight of emotions to the audience in an accessible and visual way.
The main tasks of the Impressionists are to change the pictorial technique and the psychological content of the picture. And today, even knowing the situation of that era, it is difficult to find the correct answer to the question of why impressionist landscapes, as joyful and unsophisticated as poetry, caused sharp rejection and rude ridicule from picky critics and an enlightened public.
Impressionist painting did not fit into the generally accepted framework, so still lifes and landscapes were perceived as something vulgar, unworthy of recognition along with other dregs of high art.
The art exhibition, which became a kind of missionary activity for famous artists of that time, was able to reach the hearts and demonstrate the beauty and grace. Images of objects and objects by all available means became commonplace even within the walls of formidable institutions that profess only the principles of classical art. The triumphal procession of still lifes has not stopped since the end of the 19th century, and the variety of genres and techniques today makes it possible not to be afraid of any experiments with color, textures and materials.
Still life with fruit and crockery
The artist Willem van Aelst was born in May 1627 in the city of Utrecht or Delft.
Willem van Aelst learned the basics of painting from his uncle, the famous painter Evert van Aelst. In November 1643, the young artist was admitted to the Delft Guild of St. Luke's Painters.
For four years, from 1845 to 1649, the artist lived and worked in France, and then another seven years in Italy. In Florence, Willem van Aelst performed quite a lot of work on orders from the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II of Medici.
After returning to his homeland, the artist settled in Amsterdam, set up a workshop and accepted students, among whom today we can remember Raschel Ruysch and Maria van Oosterwijk.
Willem van Aelst, during his lifetime, was recognized as an outstanding master of still life, who had an excellent command of color, and painted fabrics, bird feathers, metals, etc. with particular success. Exquisite blue velvet is often found in his still lifes. The artist uses insanely expensive lapis lazuli pigment. This ingredient was imported from distant China and its use significantly increased the cost of the author's paintings. But how blue plays in still lifes.
The painter died in 1683. Buried in Amsterdam.
Nowadays, the work of the great artist can be seen in the largest museums and art galleries in the world.
Paintings by artist Willem van Aelst
Still life with grapes and pomegranate 
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Still life with a basket of fruit 
Plums and peaches on blue velvet 
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Still life with fruit 
Still life with a bat bird and hunting accessories 
Flowers in a silver vase 
Still life with hunting equipment and a dead bird 
Still life with flowers 
Still life with fruit 
Bouquet of flowers in a glass vase 
Snack 
Still life with a bouquet of flowers in a glass vase and a pocket watch 
Still life with poultry 
Still life with fruit and a glass goblet 
hunting still life 
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Still life with grapes and peaches 
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Still life with lemon, silver jug and candlestick 
Still life with grapes, peaches and walnuts 
Still life with armor 
Still life with grapes, a clock, a glass, a silver jug and a plate 
Still Life with Fruit and Game 
Still life with flowers Then a lot of people liked it, and the works of artists seem to me an excellent visual aid in the process of studying color combinations. Actually, why reinvent the wheel if the great masters have long studied the principles of harmony, combinations of shades and actively used them when painting. I plan to write a series of posts on the topic and will draw on Itten's book The Art of Color.
Often the problem with color combinations comes from the fact that we do not have enough observation and the eye is not trained to see successful combinations, certain stereotypes are superimposed, from ignorance there is not enough courage and confidence in the selection of colors. Let's fight it :)
Itten, in his work on color, takes us through the most significant eras in the development of art and work with color, and cites great artists as an example. And today we will start with the Renaissance artists. Jan van Eyck, Piero della Francesca, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Grunewald.
"Jan van Eyck began to create paintings, the compositional basis of which was determined by the actual colors of the depicted people and objects. Through the fading and purity, lightening and darkening of these colors, the sound of the picture was getting closer and closer to realistically similar. Color became a means of conveying the naturalness of things."
"Portrait of the Arnolfini couple" is made in muted warm colors of dark Autumn
"Ghent Altarpiece" is painted in warm colors, but the colors are already clearer and cleaner, closer to spring
"Piero della Francesca He painted people, sharply delineating the figures with distinct expressive colors, while using complementary colors that provided picturesque balance to the paintings.
"Portrait of Federigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza" is also made in warm colors, in the colors of Autumn
"Montefeltro Altar": a very beautiful combination of colors, soft shades, spring-summer range.
It turns out a combination of three basic tones and two accent tones:
"Leonardo da Vinci abandoned the bright colors. He built his paintings on infinitely subtle tonal transitions."
"Mona Lisa"
"Adoration of the Magi"
"Titian began to strive for picturesque modulations of cold and warm, faded and saturated.
"Gorgeous"
"The color characteristic of his later paintings was formed by him, based on various dark and light shades of the same color."
"Coronation with Thorns". Such a cheerful picture both in theme and in colors. Best thing in November :)
But on the other hand, color transitions within the same color are very clearly visible.
"Grunewald contrasted one color with another. From the so-called objectively existing color substance, he was able to find his own color for each motive of the picture.
"Isenheim Altar"
Within the framework of one work, Grunewald used various color schemes and sacrificed overall harmony in order to convey the meaning of individual parts of the work.
It remains to be concluded that if you are Autumn, then you should look at other works of Renaissance artists :)
Renaissance (Renaissance). Italy. XV-XVI centuries. early capitalism. The country is ruled by wealthy bankers. They are interested in art and science.
The rich and powerful gather the talented and wise around them. Poets, philosophers, painters and sculptors have daily conversations with their patrons. At some point, it seemed that the people were ruled by sages, as Plato wanted.
Remember the ancient Romans and Greeks. They also built a society of free citizens, where the main value is a person (not counting slaves, of course).
The Renaissance is not just copying the art of ancient civilizations. This is a mixture. Mythology and Christianity. Realism of nature and sincerity of images. Beauty physical and spiritual.
It was just a flash. The period of the High Renaissance is about 30 years! From the 1490s to 1527 From the beginning of the flowering of Leonardo's creativity. Before the sack of Rome.
The mirage of an ideal world quickly faded. Italy was too fragile. She was soon enslaved by another dictator.
However, these 30 years determined the main features of European painting for 500 years ahead! Up to .
Image realism. Anthropocentrism (when the center of the world is Man). Linear perspective. Oil paints. Portrait. Scenery…
Incredibly, in these 30 years, several brilliant masters worked at once. At other times they are born one in 1000 years.
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian are the titans of the Renaissance. But it is impossible not to mention their two predecessors: Giotto and Masaccio. Without which there would be no Renaissance.
1. Giotto (1267-1337)
Paolo Uccello. Giotto da Bondogni. Fragment of the painting “Five Masters of the Florentine Renaissance”. Beginning of the 16th century. . XIV century. Proto-Renaissance. Its main character is Giotto. This is a master who single-handedly revolutionized art. 200 years before the High Renaissance. If not for him, the era that humanity is so proud of would hardly have come.
Before Giotto there were icons and frescoes. They were created according to the Byzantine canons. Faces instead of faces. flat figures. Proportional mismatch. Instead of a landscape - a golden background. As, for example, on this icon.
Guido da Siena. Adoration of the Magi. 1275-1280 Altenburg, Lindenau Museum, Germany. And suddenly Giotto's frescoes appear. They have big figures. Faces of noble people. Old and young. Sad. Mournful. Surprised. Different.
Frescoes by Giotto in the Scrovegni Church in Padua (1302-1305). Left: Lamentation of Christ. Middle: Kiss of Judas (detail). Right: Annunciation of St. Anne (Mary's mother), fragment.
The main creation of Giotto is a cycle of his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. When this church opened to parishioners, crowds of people poured into it. They have never seen this.
After all, Giotto did something unprecedented. He translated the biblical stories into a simple, understandable language. And they have become much more accessible to ordinary people.
Giotto. Adoration of the Magi. 1303-1305 Fresco in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. This is what will be characteristic of many masters of the Renaissance. Laconism of images. Live emotions of the characters. Realism.
Read more about the frescoes of the master in the article.
Giotto was admired. But his innovation was not further developed. The fashion for international gothic came to Italy.
Only after 100 years will a worthy successor to Giotto appear.
2. Masaccio (1401-1428)
Masaccio. Self-portrait (fragment of the fresco “Saint Peter in the pulpit”). 1425-1427 The Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy. Beginning of the 15th century. The so-called Early Renaissance. Another innovator enters the scene.
Masaccio was the first artist to use linear perspective. It was designed by his friend, the architect Brunelleschi. Now the depicted world has become similar to the real one. Toy architecture is a thing of the past.
Masaccio. Saint Peter heals with his shadow. 1425-1427 The Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy. He adopted the realism of Giotto. However, unlike his predecessor, he already knew anatomy well.
Instead of blocky characters, Giotto is beautifully built people. Just like the ancient Greeks.
Masaccio. Baptism of neophytes. 1426-1427 Brancacci Chapel, Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, Italy. 
Masaccio. Exile from Paradise. 1426-1427 Fresco in the Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy. Masaccio lived a short life. He died, like his father, unexpectedly. At 27 years old.
However, he had many followers. Masters of the following generations went to the Brancacci Chapel to learn from his frescoes.
So the innovation of Masaccio was picked up by all the great artists of the High Renaissance.
3. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Leonardo da Vinci. Self-portrait. 1512 Royal Library in Turin, Italy. Leonardo da Vinci is one of the titans of the Renaissance. He greatly influenced the development of painting.
It was da Vinci who raised the status of the artist himself. Thanks to him, representatives of this profession are no longer just artisans. These are the creators and aristocrats of the spirit.
Leonardo made a breakthrough primarily in portraiture.
He believed that nothing should distract from the main image. The eye should not wander from one detail to another. This is how his famous portraits appeared. Concise. Harmonious.
Leonardo da Vinci. Lady with an ermine. 1489-1490 Chertoryski Museum, Krakow. The main innovation of Leonardo is that he found a way to make images ... alive.
Before him, the characters in the portraits looked like mannequins. The lines were clear. All details are carefully drawn. A painted drawing could not possibly be alive.
Leonardo invented the sfumato method. He blurred the lines. Made the transition from light to shadow very soft. His characters seem to be covered in a barely perceptible haze. The characters came to life.
. 1503-1519 Louvre, Paris. Sfumato will enter the active vocabulary of all the great artists of the future.
Often there is an opinion that Leonardo, of course, a genius, but did not know how to bring anything to the end. And he often didn't finish painting. And many of his projects remained on paper (by the way, in 24 volumes). In general, he was thrown into medicine, then into music. Even the art of serving at one time was fond of.
However, think for yourself. 19 paintings - and he is the greatest artist of all times and peoples. And someone is not even close to greatness, while writing 6,000 canvases in a lifetime. Obviously, who has a higher efficiency.
Read about the most famous painting of the master in the article.
4. Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Daniele da Volterra. Michelangelo (detail). 1544 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor. But he was a universal master. Like his other Renaissance colleagues. Therefore, his pictorial heritage is no less grandiose.
He is recognizable primarily by physically developed characters. He depicted a perfect man in whom physical beauty means spiritual beauty.
Therefore, all his characters are so muscular, hardy. Even women and old people.
Michelangelo. Fragments of the Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
Often Michelangelo painted the character naked. And then I added clothes on top. To make the body as embossed as possible.
He painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel alone. Although this is a few hundred figures! He didn't even let anyone rub the paint. Yes, he was unsociable. He had a tough and quarrelsome personality. But most of all, he was dissatisfied with ... himself.
Michelangelo. Fragment of the fresco "Creation of Adam". 1511 Sistine Chapel, Vatican. Michelangelo lived a long life. Survived the decline of the Renaissance. For him it was a personal tragedy. His later works are full of sadness and sorrow.
In general, the creative path of Michelangelo is unique. His early works are the praise of the human hero. Free and courageous. In the best traditions of Ancient Greece. Like his David.
In the last years of life - these are tragic images. A deliberately rough-hewn stone. As if before us are monuments to the victims of fascism of the 20th century. Look at his "Pieta".
Sculptures by Michelangelo at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Left: David. 1504 Right: Pieta of Palestrina. 1555
How is this possible? One artist went through all the stages of art from the Renaissance to the 20th century in one lifetime. What will the next generations do? Go your own way. Knowing that the bar has been set very high.
5. Raphael (1483-1520)
. 1506 Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Raphael has never been forgotten. His genius was always recognized: both during life and after death.
His characters are endowed with sensual, lyrical beauty. It is he who is rightfully considered the most beautiful female images ever created. External beauty reflects the spiritual beauty of the heroines. Their meekness. Their sacrifice.
Raphael. . 1513 Old Masters Gallery, Dresden, Germany. The famous words “Beauty will save the world” Fyodor Dostoevsky said precisely about. It was his favorite picture.
However, sensual images are not the only strong point of Raphael. He thought very carefully about the composition of his paintings. He was an unsurpassed architect in painting. Moreover, he always found the simplest and most harmonious solution in the organization of space. It seems that it cannot be otherwise.
Raphael. Athens school. 1509-1511 Fresco in the rooms of the Apostolic Palace, Vatican. Rafael lived only 37 years. He died suddenly. From caught colds and medical errors. But his legacy cannot be overestimated. Many artists idolized this master. And they multiplied his sensual images in thousands of their canvases..
Titian was an unsurpassed colorist. He also experimented a lot with composition. In general, he was a daring innovator.
For such a brilliance of talent, everyone loved him. Called "the king of painters and the painter of kings."
Speaking of Titian, I want to put an exclamation point after each sentence. After all, it was he who brought dynamics to painting. Pathos. Enthusiasm. Bright color. Shine of colors.
Titian. Ascension of Mary. 1515-1518 Church of Santa Maria Gloriosi dei Frari, Venice. Towards the end of his life, he developed an unusual writing technique. The strokes are fast and thick. The paint was applied either with a brush or with fingers. From this - the images are even more alive, breathing. And the plots are even more dynamic and dramatic.
Titian. Tarquinius and Lucretia. 1571 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England. Doesn't this remind you of anything? Of course, it's a technique. And the technique of artists of the XIX century: Barbizon and. Titian, like Michelangelo, will go through 500 years of painting in one lifetime. That's why he's a genius.
Read about the famous masterpiece of the master in the article.
Renaissance artists are the owners of great knowledge. To leave such a legacy, it was necessary to study a lot. In the field of history, astrology, physics and so on.
Therefore, each of their images makes us think. Why is it shown? What is the encrypted message here?
They are almost never wrong. Because they thoroughly thought out their future work. They used all the baggage of their knowledge.
They were more than artists. They were philosophers. They explained the world to us through painting.
That is why they will always be deeply interesting to us.
