Still Life in Art

    The Still Life is an old tradition in art-making. The ancient Greeks and Romans created still life pieces with paint on the walls of their houses and with stones, ceramic tiles, and glass as mosaics on their floors. By the 1400s, during the period we often call the Renaissance, still life art became popular once again. By the time of the Baroque, in the 1600s, still life was a very popular genre for artists, especially artists of the Dutch Golden Age. Throughout the 1700s and 1800s, still life continued to be an important part of artists’ portfolios as well as an important part of a sequence for learning how to draw, paint, and sculpt realistic items.

    Even though photography was developed during the mid- to late-1800s to accurately capture images of the real world, artists continued to work with a variety of still life subjects and arrangements in their drawings and paintings. Today, artists in public schools and colleges around the country and the world practice drawing still lifes in a variety of ways in order to improve psychomotor skills, observational skills, and technical skills. As with all forms of art, artists improve their skills through perseverance and practice. If you continue to take art classes after high school, you will more than likely continue drawing a wide variety of still lifes.

Example of Still Life Art from the Past:

Unswept Room Mosaic. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2023.

Ancient Roman "Unswept Room" Mosaic.

Vatican Museum in Vatican City.

Valdes Leal. Vanitas. CC BY 4.0. Photo by Jl FilpoC.

Juan de Valdes Leal. Vanitas. 1660.

Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.

Claesz. Still Life. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2021.

Peter Claesz (c. 1597-1660). Still Life. 1643.

St. Louis Art Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.

Chardin. Cat and Fish. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2021.

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779). Still Life with Cat and Fish. 1728.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ruysch. Still Life of Exotic Flowers. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2021.

Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750). Still Life of Exotic Flowers on a Marble Ledge. c. 1735.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

Goya. Dead Hares. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2018.

Francisco Goya (1746-1828). Still Life with Dead Hares. c. 1808-12.

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Cezanne. Still Life with Fruit Dish. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2018.

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906). Still Life with Fruit Dish. 1879-80.

Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Renoir. Flowers and Prickly Pears. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2018.

Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Still Life with Flowers and Prickly Pears. c. 1885.

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Harnett. Violin and Music. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2018.

William Michael Harnett (1848-1892). Still Life - Violin and Music. 1888.

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Chase. Striped Bass. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2021.

William Merritt Chase (1849-1916). Still Life - Striped Bass. c. 1907.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

Picasso. Carafe, Jug, and Fruit Bowl. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2018.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). Carafe, Jug and Fruit Bowl. 1909.

Guggenheim Museum of Art in New York City.

Braque. Violin and Palette. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2018.

Georges Braque (1882-1963). Violin and Palette. 1909.

Guggenheim Museum of Art in New York City.

Kaye. Heart of the Matter. Photo by Christopher Goedert. 2017.

Otis Kaye (1885-1974). Heart of the Matter. 1963.

Art Institute of Chicago.

Link to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Audrey Flack. Queen. 1976.

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.