Still Life

1. Still Life • Still Life Drawing: “Nature Morte” • Began over 3,000 years ago as depictions of goods on tomb walls, both Egyptian and Roman Egyptian, Early Sixth Dynasty

2. 15th Century-Renaissance • Artists began a studious contemplation of plants, animals, elaborate jewels and drapery • Showed life and growth in painting Floris van Dijck, Still Life with Cheeses

3. 16th Century • Still Life began to show the frailness of life • Depictions of rotting food and dead animals

4. 17th Century-Netherlands • Still life drawings showed bountiful displays of food, cutlery, mouthwatering scenes • Commissioned to show wealth and hobbies Jan Davidsz. de Heem Still Life with a Glass and Oysters, 1640

5. 18th Century • Still life scenes brought to perfection by artists such as Raphaelle and James Peale James Peale, Still Life with Fruit, 1824

6. 19th Century • Beginning of Trompe L’oeil (Fool the Eye) • Emphasis was no longer on the subject, but on the point of view • Illusion of Reality William Harnett, Violin 1894

7. 20th Century • Beginning of various art movements: Impressionism Cubism Expressionism Fauvism Photo Realism • Each movement used still life in its own manner Henri Matisse, Fauvist Movement Blue Still Life, 1907

8. Impressionistic Still Life • Impressionists used subject to show the effects of light • Blended colors in a “painterly” style Claude Monet Flowers in a Vase

9. Expressionistic Still Life • Expressionists used still life subject to show emotion • Thick, heavy brushstrokes Vincent Van Gogh Still Life with a Bouquet of Daisies

10. Cubistic Still Life • Cubist movement broke objects down to their most basic shapes • Abstracted everyday items and rearranged parts Juan Gris, 1916 Fruit Dish, Glass and Lemon

11. Photo Realism Still Life • Photo Realists attempted to recreate a subject to the most precise detail. • Objects such as glass or metal were often used because of the intense precision Janet Fish Stack of Plates, 1980

12. Janet Fish Green Tea Cup, 1997 Vase, 1999