What is a still life definition for children. Still life in photography
Still life (fr. nature morte - “dead nature”) is a genre of fine art in which objects around us are depicted that have a semantic connection with each other. This type of art attracts with its great visual possibilities, which contribute to the development of compositional skills and color construction.
Still life conveys to us certain images and symbols of the world around us. Involves us in the world of communication of objects, providing an opportunity to be in the role of an interlocutor. true artist allows the viewer to see secret meaning objects around us. By pre-selecting and building certain attributes into a certain composition, which carries a specific semantic task.
Still life originated in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, but its prehistory arose much earlier. On a par with everyday genre still life for a long time could not take a leading position in painting. Since it was considered impossible to convey the main social ideas through this type of painting. Thanks to the great masters, this genre was recognized as quite capable of conveying various social conditions, thereby affecting various social virtues. With the help of various attributes, one or another image was created, reflecting the meaning of the main idea. Household items classified the social status, lifestyle of their owner, which was significant for conveying images of social strata.
Turning to the chronology of art history, one can trace the succession of the rise and fall of such a peculiar genre as still life.
« The formation of still life as an independent genre of painting was due to the work of the Dutch and Flemish artists of the XVII century. The 17th century in Europe is marked as the heyday of the still life. During this period, all the main varieties of still life were created.
The progressive development of still life in Western European painting XVII century can be largely explained by the peculiarities of the general cultural and worldview situation, in particular, the ultimate dilution and at the same time the mutual personification of such categories as material and spiritual, individual and universal. In the still life, the most concrete of all the specificities of this world was artistically affirmed - a thing, a product of a very specific human activity, at the same time, these earthly man-made things were endowed with an allegorical, emblematic meaning, perceived as signs of immaterial, spiritual values, as personified meditation on meaning human life. A thing, having lost its allegorical meaning, ceases to be an object of great art. The genre of still life begins to gradually become obsolete.
Its revival takes place at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. Due to its plot and, to some extent, semantic sterility, still life in these stormy decades for the development of art turns out to be especially convenient for creative experimentation. One of the most conservative, from the point of view of iconography, one of the most well-established in terms of composition, still life allowed artists to carry out the most daring, sometimes paradoxical violations of the laws of the genre, while remaining within it. Most of the experiments in this area had as their task the most complete plot and figurative decoupling of things.
Things, as it were, go beyond their boundaries, lose their self-significance, cease to be equal to themselves. They either dissolve in light and color, disperse in the radiation of energies, or condense into clumps of matter, forming combinations of the simplest volumes, or crumble into many fragments - and from all this new extra-substantial or, conversely, super-substantial things are created on the canvas. As in the paintings of the 17th century, they have an allegorical meaning, but, unlike classical still lifes, the role of primary elements in these pictorial cryptograms is performed not so much by the objects themselves as by their individual features, their qualities being saturated with increased semantic tension.
In the early years of the 20th century, there was not only a blurring of the boundaries of things within the still life, but also a significant blurring of the boundaries of the genre itself. In the open canvases of Matisse, the objects that make up the still life, permeated with the organic rhythms of nature, merge with the landscape or turn into a landscape themselves, overcoming the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the inanimate. In the constructed cubist landscapes of Picasso, nature itself is objectified, acquires the features of being made, materiality, the landscape is likened to a still life. .
“Still life also occupied a prominent place in the work of French impressionist artists (Manet, Cezanne, Monet, etc.). They sought to embody the first fresh impressions of what they saw in their works. For their still lifes, as well as for the painting of the Impressionists in general, they are characterized by: the harmony of pure colors perceived directly in nature, the naturalness and vitality of the composition.
One of the best craftsmen still life was famous french artist Chardin, who managed to penetrate into intimate life the most ordinary things, bring them closer to the viewer, and this is largely facilitated by the soft color of his paintings, deeply thought out and coming from the observation of life, simplicity and naturalness in the arrangement of objects.
In the still lifes of Chardin, there are no strict schemes developed by the Dutch school, monotony in compositional techniques, the choice of objects, the palette of colors. .
In Russia, still life independent genre painting, appeared at the beginning of the XVIII century. The idea of him was originally associated with the image of the gifts of the earth and the sea, the diverse world of things surrounding a person. Up to late XIX century still life, in contrast to the portrait and historical picture, was seen as an "inferior" genre. It existed mainly as an educational production and was allowed only in a limited sense as a painting of flowers and fruits.
The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the flourishing of Russian still life painting, which for the first time gained equality among other genres. The desire of artists to expand the possibilities of the pictorial language was accompanied by active searches in the field of color, form, and composition. All this is especially evident in the still life. Enriched with new themes, images and artistic techniques, Russian still life developed unusually rapidly: in a decade and a half, it goes from impressionism to abstract form creation.
In the 30-40s of the 20th century, this development stopped, but since the mid-50s, the still life has been experiencing Soviet painting a new upsurge and from that time finally and firmly rises on a par with other genres.
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 public values and 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 the historical conditions and public requests, 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, the still life and its role in it were already timidly peeping through the gaps in the landscapes and the heavy curtains of the 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 is the best psychological tests help 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 the relevant 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 separate genre household painting, landscape, still life.
Art, which acquired certain canons in the 17th century, determined the main quality of the genre. Painting, dedicated to the world things, describes the basic 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.
Still life of the revolutionary era during the complete victory of the bourgeoisie reflects the artist's respect for new forms national life compatriots, respect for the work of ordinary artisans, admiration for beautiful images 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 in the best way influenced the 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. Recent Romantics For millennia, life has been transferred to the canvas as it is - fast, bright strokes and expressive details have become the cornerstones of style.
Painting, still life contemporary artists certainly bear the imprint of the inspirational impressionists through color, ways and techniques of image.
Departure from the standard canons of classicism - three plans, central composition and historical heroes- 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 - change painting technique and 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.
An art exhibition that has become peculiar 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 become business as usual even within the walls of formidable institutions professing only principles classical art. The triumphal procession of still life paintings 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.
What is still life?
Still life (from the French nature morte - “dead nature”) is a genre of art depicting inanimate objects in a specially created composition.
Let's take a closer look at what a still life is, what types it can be divided into.
Netherlandish still life of the 17th century
In the Dutch still life of this era, for the most part, they captured a measured, as if frozen life.
At this time, in Holland, the still life as a genre developed quite intensively, which was facilitated by various factors. At that time there was a high level scientific development in mathematics, physics, natural sciences, social sciences. Navigators brought many new items from abroad, new technologies for manufacturing various things arose, and many different beautiful goods were placed in the windows.
There are two types of popular still lifes at this time - flower and scientist.
flower still life
From the 40s. XVII century still life began to develop as an independent genre. Its popularity is easily explained: at that time it was considered traditional to have luxurious gardens and actively cultivate flowers.
Representatives: Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Balthasar van der Ast, Jan David de Heem.
scientist still life
It is considered an intellectual type of still life. To understand such a still life, a person needs to understand the Bible and religious symbols. It is not uncommon for this genre to use illusions to create an optical illusion. They gained the greatest popularity in the middle of the 17th century in Holland and abroad.
Among the popular artists are the following: Jacob de Gijn the Younger, Floris van Dyck, Hans van Essen, Amborius Bosschaert the Elder and Younger, Clara Peters, David Bailey, Maria van Osterwijk, Cornelis Briese, Abraham Mignon, Willem van Aelst, Jan van Huysum.
Still life in Russia XVIII-XX centuries.
As a genre, still life took shape in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. Until the 19th century, it was considered a lower genre, understood in a limited way, mainly as a simple composition, for example, a production of fruits and flowers. Initially, the still life depicted the gifts of the sea and the earth, various things.
In the 20th century, this genre rose a notch, this is the time of its heyday in Russia. The search for new colors, shapes, compositions began. Within literally 15 years, still life has changed from impressionism to abstract art.
In the 30-40s. In the twentieth century, the development of the genre stopped a little, but in the 50s there was a new rise, and the still life strengthened its position among other pictorial genres.
Russian artists working at that time: Pyotr Konchalovsky, Viktor Teterin, Sergei Zakharov, Nikolai Pozdneev, Ilya Meshkov, Konstantin Korovin, Sergei Osipov, Maya Kopyttseva, Evgenia Antipova, Yaroslav Krestovsky, Kapitolina Rumyantseva, etc.
Still life XX-XXI centuries.
Still life in this era is a wide field for experimentation. This genre develops in various areas:
Now, knowing what a still life is, if you wish, you can practice in this genre. You will also need an article useful materials you will find in the section.
Still life(French Nature morte - dead nature), one of the genres of painting depicting the gifts of nature (fruits, flowers, fish, game), as well as things made by human hands (tableware, vases, watches, etc.). Sometimes inanimate objects coexist with living beings - insects, birds, animals and people.
Still life motifs are already found in the art of the Ancient East and antiquity. There is a legend that the ancient Greek artist Apelles depicted grapes so skillfully that the birds mistook him for a real one and began to peck.
The first mention of still life can be found in the XV-XVI centuries. For a long time still life retained a connection with the religious picture.
As an independent genre, still life developed in the 17th century. and then experienced its bright heyday in the work of the Dutch, Flemish and Spanish masters. The diversity of its types and forms at that time is associated with the development of national realistic schools of painting.
In Holland, there were several varieties of still life. The artists painted “breakfasts” and “desserts” in such a way that it seemed as if a person was somewhere nearby and would soon return. A pipe smokes on the table, a napkin is crumpled, wine in a glass is not finished, a lemon is cut, bread is broken (P. Klas, V. Kheda, V. Kalf).
Also popular were images of kitchen utensils, vases with flowers, and, finally, Vanitas("vanity of vanities"), still lifes on the theme of the frailty of life and its short-term joys, calling to remember true values and take care of the salvation of the soul. Favorite attributes of "Vanitas" are a skull and a watch (J. van Strek. "Vanity of vanities").
For Dutch still lifes, as well as in general for the still life of the 17th century, the presence of hidden philosophical overtones, complex Christian or love symbolism is characteristic (the lemon was a symbol of moderation, the dog was fidelity, etc.)
The Flemings, on the contrary, painted large, sometimes huge canvases intended to decorate the palace halls. They are distinguished by a festive multicolor, an abundance of objects, and the complexity of the composition. Such still lifes were called "shops"(J. Feith, F. Snyders). They depicted tables littered with game, seafood, bread, and next to them were the owners offering their goods. Abundant food, as if not fitting on the tables, hung down, fell out directly on the audience.
IN Italy and Spain The rise of still life was greatly contributed to the work of Caravaggio. The favorite themes of still life were flowers, vegetables and fruits, seafood, kitchen utensils, etc. (P. P. Bonzi, M. Campidoglio, J. Recco, J. B. Ruoppolo, E. Baskenis, etc.).
Spanish artists preferred to limit themselves to a small set of items and worked in a discreet color scheme. The forms are simple and noble; they are carefully molded with chiaroscuro, almost tangible, the composition is strictly balanced (F. Zurbaran. "Still life with oranges and lemons", 1633; A. Pereda. "Still life with a clock").
In Russia, the first still lifes appeared in the 18th century. in decorative paintings on the walls of palaces and “dummy” paintings, in which objects were reproduced so accurately that they seemed real (G. N. Teplov, P. G. Bogomolov, T. Ulyanov).
In the 19th century trickery traditions have been rethought. Still life is experiencing a rise in the first floor. 19th century in the work of F.P. Tolstoy, who rethought the traditions of "tricks" ("Berries of red and white currants", 1818), artists Venetian school, I. T. Khrutsky. In everyday objects, artists sought to see beauty and perfection.
In the 18th century the French master J.-B. WITH. Chardin. His paintings, depicting simple, solid utensils (bowls, a copper tank), vegetables, simple food, are filled with the breath of life, warmed by the poetry of the hearth and affirm the beauty of everyday life. Chardin also painted allegorical still lifes (Still Life with Attributes of the Arts, 1766).
new bloom genre comes to a con. 19 - beg. 20th century, when the still life becomes a laboratory for creative experiments, a means of expressing the individuality of the artist. still life takes significant place in the work of post-impressionists - V. van gogh, P. Gauguin and above all P. Cezanne. P. Picasso, A. Matisse
still life still life
(French nature morte, Italian natura morta, literally - dead nature; Dutch stilleven, German Stilleben, English still life, literally - quiet or motionless life), a genre of fine art (mainly easel painting), which is dedicated to the image things surrounding a person, placed, as a rule, in a real household environment and compositionally organized into a single group. The special organization of the motive (the so-called staging) is one of the main components figurative system still life genre. In addition to inanimate objects (for example, household items), still life depicts objects of wildlife, isolated from natural connections and thus turned into a thing - fish on the table, flowers in a bouquet, etc. Complementing the main motive, the still life may include image of people, animals, birds, insects. The depiction of things in a still life has an independent artistic value, although in the process of development it often served to express symbolic content, solve decorative problems or accurately fix the objective world in natural science, etc. At the same time, a still life can characterize not only things in themselves, but also social status, content and lifestyle of their owner, give rise to numerous associations and social analogies.
Still life motifs as details of compositions are already found in the art of the Ancient East and antiquity, some phenomena in medieval art are partly comparable to still life. Far East(for example, the so-called "flowers-birds" genre), but the birth of still life as an independent genre occurs in modern times, when attention to the material world, to its concrete-sensual image, develops in the work of Italian and especially Dutch Renaissance masters. The history of still life as a genre of easel painting, and in particular its type "trompe l" oeil (the so-called snag), is opened by the "Still Life" by the Italian Jacopo de Barbari (1504), which illusionistically accurately recreates objects. half of the XVI- the beginning of the 17th century, which was facilitated by the natural-science inclinations characteristic of this era, the interest of art in everyday life and private life of a person, as well as the very development of methods for the artistic development of the world (the works of the Dutchman P. Aartsen, the Fleming J. Brueghel Velvet, etc.).
The heyday of still life - XVII century. The diversity of its types and forms at that time is associated with the development of national realistic schools of painting. In Italy and Spain, the rise of still life was greatly facilitated by the work of Caravaggio and his followers ( cm. Caravaggism). The favorite themes of still life were flowers, vegetables and fruits, seafood, kitchen utensils, etc. (P. P. Bonzi, M. Campidoglio, J. Recco, J. B. Ruoppolo, E. Baskenis, etc.). The Spanish still life is characterized by sublime severity and special significance of the image of things (X. Sanchez Cotan, F. Zurbaran, A. Pereda, etc.). Interest in the everyday nature of things, intimacy, often democratism of images were clearly manifested in the Dutch still life. It is characterized by special attention to the transmission of the light environment, the diverse texture of materials, the subtlety of tonal relationships and color scheme - from the exquisitely modest coloring of the "monochrome breakfasts" by V. Kheda and P. Klas to the intensely contrasting, coloristically spectacular compositions of V. Kalf ("desserts "). The Dutch still life is distinguished by the abundance of different types of this genre: "fish" (A. Beyeren), "flowers and fruits" (J. D. de Hem), "beaten game" (J. Venike, M. Hondekuter), allegorical still life "vanitas "("vanity of vanities"), etc. The Flemish still life (mainly "markets", "shops", "flowers and fruits") stands out for its scope and at the same time decorative compositions: these are hymns to fertility and abundance (F. Snyders, J. Feit) , In the XVII century. German (G. Flegel, K. Paudis) and French (L. Bozhen) still life are also developing. From the end of the 17th century in the French still life, the decorative trends of court art triumphed (flowers by J. B. Monnoyer and his school, hunting still life by A. F. Deport and J. B. Oudry). Against this background, the works of one of the most significant masters of French still life - J. B. S. Chardin, marked by rigor and freedom of composition, subtlety of color solutions, stand out with genuine humanity and democracy. In the middle of the XVIII century. in the period of the final formation of the academic hierarchy of genres, the term "nature morte" arose, which reflected the contemptuous attitude towards this genre of supporters of academicism, who preferred genres whose area was "living nature" ( historical genre, portrait, etc.).
In the 19th century the fate of the still life was determined by the leading masters of painting, who worked in many genres and involved the still life in the struggle aesthetic views And artistic ideas(F. Goya in Spain, E. Delacroix, G. Courbet, E. Manet in France). Among the masters of the 19th century who specialized in this genre, A. Fantin-Latour (France) and W. Harnet (USA) also stand out. The new rise of still life was associated with the performance of the masters of post-impressionism, for whom the world of things becomes one of the main themes (P. Cezanne, V. van Gogh). Since the beginning of the XX century. still life is a kind of creative laboratory of painting. In France, the masters of Fauvism (A. Matisse and others) follow the path of heightened identification of the emotional and decorative-expressive possibilities of color and texture, and the representatives of cubism (J. Braque, P. Picasso, X. Gris and others), using the the specifics of still life artistic and analytical possibilities, seek to establish new ways of conveying space and form. Still life also attracts masters of other trends (A. Kanoldt in Germany, G. Morandi in Italy, S. Lukyan in Romania, B. Kubista and E. Filla in the Czech Republic, etc.). Social trends in the still life of the 20th century are represented by the work of D. Rivera and D. Siqueiros in Mexico, R. Guttuso in Italy.
Still life appeared in Russian art in the 18th century. together with the affirmation of secular painting, reflecting the cognitive pathos of the era and the desire to truthfully and accurately convey the objective world ("tricks" by G. N. Teplov, P. G. Bogomolov, T. Ulyanov, etc.). The further development of Russian still life for a considerable time was episodic. Its some rise in the first half of the XIX century. (F. P. Tolstoy, school of A. G. Venetsianov, I. T. Khrutsky) is associated with the desire to see beauty in the small and ordinary. In the second half of the XIX century. I. N. Kramskoy, I. E. Repin, V. I. Surikov, V. D. Polenov, I. I. Levitan turned to the still life of a sketchy nature only occasionally; The auxiliary significance of the still life in the artistic system of the Wanderers followed from their idea of the dominant role of the plot-thematic picture. The independent significance of the still life-study increases at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. (M. A. Vrubel, V. E. Borisov-Musatov). The heyday of Russian still life falls on the beginning of the 20th century. His best examples include the impressionistic works of K. A. Korovin, I. E. Grabar; the works of the artists of the "World of Art" (A. Ya. Golovin and others) that subtly play with the historical and everyday character of things; sharply decorative images P. V. Kuznetsov, N. N. Sapunov, S. Yu. Sudeikin, M. S. Saryan and other painters of the Blue Rose circle; bright still lifes imbued with the fullness of being by the masters of the "Jack of Diamonds" (P. P. Konchalovsky, I. I. Mashkov, A. V. Kuprin, V. V. Rozhdestvensky, A. V. Lentulov, R. R. Falk, N. S. Goncharova). Soviet still life, developing in line with art socialist realism enriched with new content. In the 20-30s. it includes both the philosophical understanding of modernity in compositionally sharpened works (K. S. Petrov-Vodkin), and thematic “revolutionary” still lifes (F. S. Bogorodsky and others), and attempts to tangibly regain the “thing” rejected by the so-called non-objectives through experiments in the field of color and texture (D. P. Shterenberg, N. I. Altman), and a full-blooded recreation of the colorful richness and diversity of the objective world (A. M. Gerasimov, Konchalovsky, Mashkov, Kuprin. Lentulov, Saryan, A. A . Osmerkin and others), as well as the search for subtle color harmony, the poeticization of the world of things (V. V. Lebedev, N. A. Tyrsa and others). In the 40-50s. P. V. Kuznetsov, Yu. P. P. Konchalovsky, V. B. Elkonik, V. F. Stozharov, A. Yu. Nikich are actively working in still life. Among the masters of still life in the Union republics, A. Akopyan in Armenia, T. F. Narimanbekov in Azerbaijan, L. Svemp and L. Endzelina in Latvia, N. I. Kormashov in Estonia stand out. The attraction to the increased "objectivity" of the image, the aestheticization of the world of things surrounding a person determined the interest in still life of young artists of the 70s and early 80s. (Ya. G. Anmanis, A. I. Akhaltsev, O. V. Bulgakova, M. V. Leis, etc.).
V. Kheda. "Breakfast with blackberry pie." 1631. Picture gallery. Dresden.
P. Cezanne. "Peaches and Pears" Late 1880s Museum of Fine Arts named after A. S. Pushkin. Moscow.
K. S. Petrov-Vodkin. "Morning still life". 1918. Russian Museum. Leningrad.
I. I. Mashkov. "Snedd Moscow: bread". 1924. Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow.
Source: Popular Art Encyclopedia. Ed. Field V.M.; M.: Publishing house " Soviet Encyclopedia", 1986.)
still life(French nature morte - dead nature), one of the genres of painting. Still lifes depict the gifts of nature (fruits, flowers, fish, game), as well as things made by human hands (tableware, vases, clocks, etc.). Sometimes inanimate objects coexist with living beings - insects, birds, animals and people.
Still lifes included in plot compositions are already found in painting. ancient world(wall paintings in Pompeii). There is a legend that the ancient Greek artist Apelles depicted grapes so skillfully that the birds mistook him for a real one and began to peck. As an independent genre, still life developed in the 17th century. and then experienced its bright heyday in the work of the Dutch, Flemish and Spanish masters.
In Holland, there were several varieties of still life. The artists painted “breakfasts” and “desserts” in such a way that it seemed as if a person was somewhere nearby and would soon return. A pipe smokes on the table, a napkin is crumpled, wine in a glass is not finished, a lemon is cut, bread is broken (P. Klas, V. Kheda, V. Kalf). Also popular were images of kitchen utensils, vases of flowers and, finally, “Vanitas” (“vanity of vanities”), still lifes on the theme of the frailty of life and its short-term joys, calling for remembering true values and taking care of saving the soul. Favorite attributes of "Vanitas" are a skull and a watch (J. van Strek. "Vanity of vanities"). Dutch still lifes, as well as 17th century still life in general, are characterized by the presence of hidden philosophical overtones, complex Christian or love symbolism (the lemon was a symbol of moderation, the dog was fidelity, etc.). At the same time, artists recreated in still lifes with love and enthusiasm the diversity of the world (plays of silks and velvets, heavy carpet tablecloths, shimmering silver, juicy berries and noble wine). The composition of still lifes is simple and stable, subject to the diagonal or the shape of a pyramid. The main “hero” is always highlighted in it, for example, a glass, a jug. Masters subtly build relationships between objects, opposing or, conversely, matching their color, shape, surface texture. carefully discharged the smallest details. Small in size, these paintings are designed for close examination, long contemplation and comprehension of their hidden meaning.
The Flemings, on the contrary, painted large, sometimes huge canvases intended to decorate the palace halls. They are distinguished by a festive multicolor, an abundance of objects, and the complexity of the composition. Such still lifes were called “shops” (J. Feit, F. Snyders). They depicted tables littered with game, seafood, bread, and next to them were the owners offering their goods. Abundant food, as if not fitting on the tables, hung down, fell out directly on the audience.
Spanish artists preferred to limit themselves to a small set of objects and worked in a restrained color scheme. Dishes, fruits or shells in the paintings of F. Zurbarana and A. The fronts are sedately placed on the table. Their forms are simple and noble; they are carefully molded with chiaroscuro, almost tangible, the composition is strictly balanced (F. Zurbaran. "Still life with oranges and lemons", 1633; A. Pereda. "Still life with a clock").
In the 18th century the French master J.-B. WITH. Chardin. His paintings, depicting simple, solid utensils (bowls, a copper tank), vegetables, simple food, are filled with the breath of life, warmed by the poetry of the hearth and affirm the beauty of everyday life. Chardin also painted allegorical still lifes (Still Life with Attributes of the Arts, 1766).
In Russia, the first still lifes appeared in the 18th century. in decorative paintings on the walls of palaces and “dummy” paintings, in which objects were reproduced so accurately that they seemed real (G. N. Teplov, P. G. Bogomolov, T. Ulyanov). In the 19th century trickery traditions have been rethought. Still life is experiencing a rise in the first floor. 19th century in the work of F.P. Tolstoy, who rethought the traditions of "tricks" ("Berries of red and white currants", 1818), artists Venetian school, I. T. Khrutsky. In everyday objects, artists sought to see beauty and perfection.
A new heyday of the genre comes at the end. 19 - beg. 20th century, when the still life becomes a laboratory for creative experiments, a means of expressing the individuality of the artist. Still life occupies a significant place in the work of post-impressionists - V. van gogh, P. Gauguin and above all P. Cezanne. The monumentality of the composition, stingy lines, elementary, rigid forms in Cezanne's paintings are designed to reveal the structure, the basis of the thing and recall the unshakable laws of the world order. The artist sculpts the form with color, emphasizing its materiality. At the same time, elusive play of colors, especially cold blue, gives his still lifes a feeling of air and spaciousness. The line of the Cezanne still life was continued in Russia by the masters " Jack of Diamonds"(I.I. Mashkov, P.P. Konchalovsky etc.), combining it with the traditions of the Russian folk art. Artists "Blue Rose"(N.N. Sapunov, S. Yu. Sudeikin) created nostalgic, antique-style compositions. Philosophical generalizations permeate the still lifes of K. S. Petrova-Vodkina. In the 20th century in the genre of still life, P. Picasso, A. Matisse, D. Morandi. In Russia, the greatest masters of this genre were M.S. Saryan, P.V. Kuznetsov, A. M. Gerasimov, V. F. Stozharov and others.
