"French taste"

A taste for Flemish and Dutch still life in 18th-century France encouraged Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin to produce his masterpieces of the genre. Still life was much cultivated by the great artists of 19th-century France, Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet, Edouard Manet, Pierre-August Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent van Gogh providing great examples, though the objects themselves became increasingly unimportant for these artists, as their interest in still life was motivated more by the study of light and colour. Cubism carried this process a stage further in breaking through surface appearance, though the cubist still life retains a suggestion of familiar things. Although a still life can tend towards abstract art, it stops short of complete abstraction.

About still life

In painting and other visual arts, a depiction of inanimate objects, such as flowers, fruit, or tableware. Still-life painting was popular among the ancient Greeks and Romans (who also made still-life mosaics), but thereafter it was sidelined in European art for centuries, as art was overwhelmingly devoted to religious subjects during the Middle Ages. It reappeared during the Renaissance and became established as a distinctive branch of painting in the 17th century, flourishing first in the Netherlands, where the Reformation had discouraged religious imagery and artists were seeking new subjects. Pictures of dead animals are also covered by the term.

Early examples often combine a delight in the appearance of things with religious or moral symbolism. Flowers, for example, can always refer to the frailty and brief span of human life, because flowers quickly fade and die. In the same vein, a vanitas (Latin for ‘emptiness’ or ‘worthlessness’) is a particular type of still life consisting entirely of objects stressing the shortness of life: a skull, a candle, flower petals, and so on. In spite of the popularity of such symbolism, in the history of art still life was regarded as the lowest branch of painting for centuries, requiring only the skill of copying rather than creative imagination. This attitude was common until the 19th century, when people began to be more interested in how a picture was painted than what it represented, and since then many great artists have devoted a good deal of time to still life, which enabled them to concentrate on formal problems. Paul Cézanne for example was particularly suited to still life as he was a very slow worker, and it was also the favourite subject of the cubists.

Medical Still Life by De Scott Evans

De Scott Evans was a prolific, nationally known painter of portraits, rural scenes and still lifes. He opened a studio in Cleveland in 1874, and was a founding member of the Cleveland Art Club in 1876. He moved to New York City in 1887 but continued to show his work in Cleveland, and at the National Academy of Design in New York City.

The Dittrick's painting by De Scott Evans, Still Life: Medical Subject was painted in 1876 for Dr. H.C. Brainerd. The painting depicts objects common to a doctor's everyday life, and some more personalized items, a cigar, a portrait of a woman. The bills of currency symbolize a bad experience for Dr. Brainerd. He was an official of the Euclid Avenue Savings and Trust Company , and lost his savings when the bank failed.

This painting underwent extensive conservation in 1993, it was cleaned of old varnish, paints stabilized, and backing and tacking margins were strengthened. The painting was then loaned to the Cleveland Artists Foundation and the Western Reserve Historical Society for an exhibit and illustrated catalog entitled "Frederick C. Gottwald and the Old Bohemians". The painting presently hangs in the eighteen seventies doctors' office period room in the Dittrick Museum.

The Importance of Still Life Painting

Many students find still life painting dull, probably because they resent the discipline entailed and are unable to sustain their interest. And there are art educators who claim that drawing and/or painting still life is just a mechanical exercise that cannot be conducive to expressive (and truly artistic) art. But if you study the masters, both classic and modern, you will notice that many of their most important works are still life paintings.

Look at masterpieces of portraiture in which still life accessories are employed, and see how important they are to the painting. Still life painting is a complete and fascinating subject in itself, but it is also an excellent exercise for the beginner students who are getting ready to start painting outdoors.

Many of the problems that arise when painting landscapes can be solved by still life practice. Along with improving your knowledge of drawing, you learn the mixing and handling of your paint and brushes. Every type of texture can be studied by a careful selection of the objects to be painted. Silk, with its hard, shining lights, and the heavy, dull, absorbent quality of velvet can be observed as they form the draped background of your subject. Common kitchen objects contain a wealth of shapes and textures to be captured on canvas. Flowers, fruit, and vegetables abound with both obvious and subtle color. Books, lamps, furniture... everything found in your home can be incorporated into leasing subjects.

You can create your own compositions, lighting effects, and arrangements of color. The important thing is that all these vital ingredients of successful painting can be studied and solved leisurely. Then, when you paint outdoors and the effects are fleeting, you will be better prepared to cope with them, having had some technical experience.

You can find a lot of still life paintings in our Art Galeery, such as still life with fruits or still life with flowers and many others.

The Definition of Still Life Painting

A still life is a painting featuring an arrangement of inanimate, everyday objects, whether natural objects (flowers, food, wine, etc.) or manufactured items (books, bottles, crockery, etc.).

Traditionally, some of the objects in a still life were likely to have selected for their symbolic meaning, but this symbolism eludes most modern-day visitors. Cut flowers or a piece of decaying fruit, for instance, symbolism mortality. But a still life painting doesn't have to have symbolism. Cezanne is perhaps the most famous painter of apples simply for the colors, shapes, and perspective possibilities.

STILL LIFE This is the term used today due to the evolution (degradation?) of the language. Look at an incomplete list of alternative words: Florals, Flower Pieces, Breakfast, Dessert, Game, Fruit Pieces, Kitchen Pieces... All these names reflect entire epochs in still life painting. In the 20th century we like to make generalizations, well, let it be still life...