What is still life?

Still life is a genre of art that depicts inanimate objects in a still frame. This usually comes with deeper context or meaning behind the objects that have been placed there. For example, skulls are used to symbolise death, exotic foods like fruit are used to demonstrate wealth, and books are used for knowledge.

Still Life started in the 16^th century, with Dutch painters like Pieter Aertsen, who pictured objects like expensive cheese, exotic fruit and various luxury items. This was done to show off the wealth of the painter and of his country.

Still Life Timeline

16th century painting by Pieter Aertsen from the Netherlands

17th century painting by Willem Kalf from the Netherlands

18th century painting by Anne Vallayer-Coster from France

19th century painting by Vincent Van Gogh from the Netherlands

20th century painting by Salvadore Dali from Spain

Still life photographers

The photos in this post all come from a 21st century photographer who is called Paulette Tavormina. She is a modern American artist that mainly focuses on replicating the essence of Still Life images. She uses similar techniques to the originators of the genre, in this photo using meats, bronze pots and other items that were considered “luxury” for the time. This also links to colonialism at the time as well, as exotic items usually came from far away countries that were colonised by countries like the Netherlands, France or England. Also in this photo, there is a sense of emptiness. There is no background. This is an example of Vanitas, the essence of emptiness. She uses this frequently in her Still Life photos.

The objects depicted in still life photos are used either to depict metaphors or because they visually have a nice shape and reflect well with light. For example, the apples and cherries in the photo above have a nice reflection that compliment their round shape and smooth texture.

This is another example of Still Life, from a Dutch painter named Willem Kalf. In the photo, there are gold items, exotic fruits and various other items that could be seen as wealth, such as the rug that sits scrunched up and almost neglected underneath all of the items. This could be to show that the owner of these items, either the painter or a wealthy person of the time, has enough money to neglect these luxurious objects.

Still Life metaphors:

Skulls/bones – used to depict death, the marching of time. This is usually made with the use of memento mori, the reminder of death

Flowers – romantic values, beauty

Food – fruits are used to depict wealth, meat is used to depict strength or integrity

Books – used to depict knowledge and high intelligence

Valuables – items like golden necklaces or rings, any item that looks expensive, is used to demonstrate power and wealth