Definition of still life in painting. Still life in painting: types and description
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), genre visual arts(mainly easel painting), which is dedicated to the image of the 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 image of things in a still life has its own 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, still life can characterize not only things in themselves, but also the social status, content and lifestyle of them owner, generate 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 the medieval art of the Far East are partly comparable with still life (for example, the so-called "flowers-birds" genre), but the birth of still life as independent genre takes place in modern times, when in the work of the Italian and especially the Dutch masters of the Renaissance, attention is developing to the material world, to its concrete-sensual image. 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-scientific inclinations characteristic of this era, the interest of art in everyday life and privacy man, 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. WITH late XVII V. 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; auxiliary value of still life in art system The Wanderers followed from their idea of the dominant role of the plot-thematic picture. The independent value of the still life-study increases by turn of XIX and XX 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 of 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 and philosophical reflection modernity in works sharpened in composition (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 poetization of the world of things (V. V. Lebedev, N. A. Tyrsa, etc.). 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. Art 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, 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 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"). 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. The smallest details are carefully written out. 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 items and worked in a discreet 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.
Roger Fenton. Fruits. 1860 Graham Clarke. The Photographer. Oxford, 1997
Fred and Gloria McDurr's photographic encyclopedia defines the word "still life" as follows: General term for photographs of inanimate objects, products and goods, often for use in advertising. When small objects are placed on the surface of a table, still life photography is sometimes referred to as "table top" photography. With the exception of the last clarification, this definition fully corresponds to that which is used in relation to painting. Interestingly, the term itself appeared much later than the image, and refers to the beginning of the 19th century. The French combination nature morte (dead or mortified nature) differs from English still life and German stilleben (calm, quiet life) not only in spelling, but also in meaning. In Holland, there was no single term at all: each specialization (breakfasts, flower bouquets, fish still lifes) had its own name.
Inanimate objects have been present in works of art since the Paleolithic era. At different times they are given their own role and significance. The works of Hans Holbein, Caravaggio or Jan Vermeer are not still lifes, but in their works he is given a special place both artistically and in terms of meaning. Still life emerged as an independent genre only in the 17th century.
Photography, which borrowed almost all genres from painting, did not make an exception for still life. As the history of photography shows, it was the still life that turned out to be the least represented in photographic art, although this story actually began with it. Among the early heliographic experiments of Nicephore Niepce was a still life, consisting of a bottle, a knife, a spoon, a bowl and a loaf of bread lying on a table. Hippolyte Bayard in 1839 made a composition from plaster casts, Jacques-Louis Daguerre made several still lifes with plaster casts, small sculptures, paintings and fragments of ancient friezes, Henry Fox Talbot - with shells and fossils. It is worth noting that still lifes with attributes of art were also found in the painting of Jean Baptiste Chardin.
Photographers often repeated the composition and used the same subjects as the artists. Henry Fox Talbot's statement that "the Dutch school of painting serves as our authoritative source for the depiction of objects of everyday, everyday life" does not seem to have gone unnoticed, as evidenced, for example, by the works of Roger Fenton, William Lake Price and Drew Diamond. The main objects of such still lifes were flowers, fruits or dead game. In France, the work of Adolphe Braun was similar to the photographic version of the work of Jean-Baptiste Oudry, a popular 19th-century court painter of the royal hunt of Louis XV.
Still lifes were usually shot indoors, but there were exceptions. Due to the poor light sensitivity of early photographic materials, a number of photographers preferred to work in the garden or front garden. Any improvised materials (ladders, rakes, wheelbarrows, buckets, etc.) were used, which were often mixed with brought household items, fresh flowers, trees side by side with inanimate objects. Such, for example, are the still lifes of Louis-Remy Robert, Hippolyte Bayard and Richard Jones.
Photographic still lifes on the subject of Vanitas (lat. "ghost", "vanity"), an integral attribute of which is the skull, appear in the middle of the 19th century, for example, by Louis Jules Duboc-Soleil, and from time to time appear in the 20th century - Alfred Stieglitz, Irvin Penn, Robert Mapplethorpe and others.
At the beginning of the 20th century, photography was looking for new ways and objects to embody the genre of still life. Simply capturing the objects arranged together is no longer enough. Complicated angles, close-ups, photograms, passion for the shape and texture of the object - all this gives a new look to the old genre. The range of objects is expanding: along with such banal everyday things as a fork or glasses, industrial objects (tools, parts of machines and machine tools) appear. Alfred Renger-Patch, Alexander Rodchenko, Andre Kertets, Edward Steichen, Boris Ignatovich, Arkady Shaikhet, Bauhaus photographers, Edward Weston, William Underhill and others were engaged in similar searches.
The world of ordinary things blossoms again in the middle of the century with the still lifes of Josef Sudek. Soft diffused light gives an ordinary flower in a glass a lyric-melancholic mood.
In the second half of the last century, still life is increasingly in demand in the advertising industry. The happy union of commerce and art is embodied in the still lifes of Irwin Pena. Classic, stylish, ironic, but always simple and sophisticated. Thanks to this master, for the first time in 1944, the cover of a fashion magazine was decorated with a photographic still life.
Among Russian photographers of the second half of the 20th century who worked in this genre, a special place belongs to Boris Smelov. His classic still lifes of old St. Petersburg everyday life were distinguished by their perfect composition and impeccable technique. Joel-Peter Witkin is an unsurpassed master of the "shocking" still life. Translation from French "dead nature" in this case accurately reflects the author's passions - various parts human body on their own (“Torso”) or framed by flowers and fruits (“Head of a Woman”, “Feast of Fools”, etc.).
In quantitative terms, photographic still life is much inferior to other genres, only occasionally appearing in the work of one or another author. Flipping through photography history books and collection catalogs major museums, the chance to find a separate section dedicated to still life is almost zero.
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1. The history of the development of still life
In the visual arts, a still life (from the French natur morte - “dead nature”) is usually called the image of inanimate objects combined into a single compositional group. For many, German or English version designations still life and still leben (quiet life). In Dutch, the designation of this genre sounds like stilleven, that is, “quiet life”, in the opinion of many artists and art historians, this is the most accurate expression of the essence of the genre, but such is the strength of tradition that “still life” is a well-known and rooted name. A still life can have both an independent meaning and be integral part compositions genre painting. Still life expresses the relationship of man to the world around him. It reveals the understanding of the beautiful, which is inherent in the artist as a man of his time.
Still life, as an independent genre, arose in Flanders and Holland at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, quickly reaching extraordinary perfection in conveying the diversity of objects of the material world. The process of becoming a still life proceeded more or less the same way in many countries. Western Europe. But if we take the history of art together, then the first stage in the development of still life refers to the Paleolithic period. There are two main techniques used by ancient artists: naturalism and ornamentality. Then these two currents begin to converge more and more, and a “semi-conscious” still life appears, an image of individual parts of an object. A genuine whole object can be found only in the Bronze Age. This second stage in the development of still life receives its heyday in the art of Egypt. Objects are always depicted isolated from each other. For the first time, the motif of a flower, the theme of cut plants, is introduced. Correlation of proportions appears in the works of Aegean art. Objects are depicted in three quarters arranged in groups. The traditions of Aegean painting found their continuation in Greek culture. We can judge this genre of fine art by the vases. Items no longer hang in the air, but have their own " real place"in space: a shield leaning against a tree, a mantle thrown over a branch - the so-called "hanging" still life. also in school scenes a "musical" still life is often depicted. One more type of Greek still life can be distinguished - “antique”. Artists create images of workshops: pieces of statues, a saw, a hammer, sketch plates. It is almost impossible to find images of flowers and animals on Greek vases.
In medieval art, as a result of the fragmentation of the composition, the division of the pictorial canvas into peculiar registers, the subject becomes an attribute, and not an object of the image. Ornament also continues to play an important role, especially actively used in the stained-glass windows of Catholic cathedrals. The stern, intensely ascetic art of Byzantium, creating immortal, monumental-generalized, sublimely heroic images, used images of individual objects with extraordinary expressiveness.
In ancient Russian icon painting, those few objects that the artist introduced into his strictly canonical works also played an important role. They brought spontaneity, vitality, sometimes seemed to be an open expression of feelings in a work dedicated to an abstract mythological plot.
Still life played an even greater role in the paintings of artists of the 15th-16th centuries during the Renaissance. The painter who first drew close attention on the world around him, sought to indicate the place, to determine the value of every thing that serves a person. Household items acquired the nobility and proud significance of their owner, the one they served. On large canvases, still life usually occupied a very modest place: a glass vessel with water, an elegant silver vase or delicate white lilies on thin stems often huddled in the corner of the picture. However, in the depiction of these things there was so much poetic love for nature, their meaning is so highly spiritualized that here you can already see all the features that later determined independent development the whole genre.
Objects, a material element, received a new meaning in the paintings in the 17th century - in the era of the developed still life genre. In complex compositions with a literary plot, they took their place along with other heroes of the work. Analyzing the works of this time, one can see what an important role the still life began to play in the picture. Things began to appear in these works as the main characters, showing what an artist can achieve by devoting his skill to this kind of art.
Objects made by skillful, industrious, wise hands bear the imprint of a person's thoughts, desires, and inclinations. They serve him, delight him, inspire a legitimate sense of pride. No wonder we learn about epochs that have long disappeared from the face of the earth from those shards of dishes, household utensils and ritual objects that become for archaeologists scattered pages of the history of mankind.
peering into the world, penetrating with an inquisitive mind into its laws, unraveling the fascinating mysteries of life, the artist more and more fully and multilaterally reflects it in his art. He not only depicts the world around him, but also conveys his understanding, his attitude to reality.
The history of the formation and development of various genres of painting is living evidence of tireless work human consciousness striving to embrace the infinite variety of activities, to comprehend it aesthetically. The genre of still life was especially pronounced in Dutch painting proto-renaissance. It is still part of the interior, but at the same time, the artists' love of detail creates amazing little still lifes: dishes, a work table, shoes standing on the floor. All this is depicted with the same love as the figures of people and saints. In Italy, the still life emerges from the scenery. In the future, the object receives a kind of independent activity, becomes a participant in the action. Since the proto-Renaissance, the objective world has become more and more realistic, sometimes even almost tangible. It ceases to be a sham, but becomes everyday life. In the 16th century, the artists of the Northern Renaissance began to expose objects, tear off their covers (for example, the skin from animals).
Still life is a relatively young genre. It received independent significance in Europe only in the 17th century. The history of the development of still life is interesting and instructive. The still life flourished especially fully and vividly in Flanders and the Netherlands. Still life finally takes shape as an independent genre of painting. Its emergence is connected with those revolutionary historical events, as a result of which these countries, having gained independence, at the beginning of the 17th century, embarked on the path of bourgeois development. For Europe at that time, this was an important and progressive phenomenon. New horizons opened up before art. Historical conditions, new social relations directed and determined creative demands, changes in solving the problems facing the painter. without directly depicting historical events, artists took a fresh look at the world, found new values in man. Life routinely appeared before them with hitherto unknown significance and fullness. They were attracted by the peculiarities of national life, native nature, things that keep the imprint of labors and days ordinary people. It was from here, from a conscious, in-depth, prompted interest in the life of the people by the system itself, that separate and independent genres were born. household painting, landscape, emerged and still life.
The art of still life, which developed in the 17th century, determined the main qualities of this genre. Painting, dedicated to the world things, talked about the basic properties inherent in objects surrounding a person, revealed the attitude of the artist and contemporary to what is depicted, expressed the nature and completeness of the knowledge of reality. The painter conveyed the material existence of things, their volume, weight, texture, color, functional value of household items, their living connection with human activity. The beauty and perfection of household utensils were determined not only by their necessity, but also by the skill of their creator. The still life of the revolutionary era of the victorious bourgeoisie reflected the artist's respect for new forms national life compatriots, respect for work.
Formulated in the 17th century, the tasks of the genre in in general terms existed in the European school up to mid-nineteenth century. However, this does not mean that the artists did not set themselves new tasks, mechanically repeating ready-made solutions.
Over the epochs, not only the methods and ways of painting a still life changed, but artistic experience accumulated, in the process of formation a more complex and constantly enriching view of the world developed.
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Instruction
Still life as a genre did not stand out immediately, for a long time paintings depicting flowers and household items were used as a framing addition to other canvases, as well as decoration on furniture doors. The first independent paintings appeared around the 17th century. Then the images of objects began to be used as allegories, and each object had an additional symbolic meaning. Later, the still life became popular among artists, but was considered an inferior genre.
There are several types of still life, one of the earliest and most common is the flower still life, the next most popular is the still life of the served table. The symbolic still life continues to exist. another view that has appeared relatively recently is an abstract still life, in this style objects are not depicted realistically, the forms are sketchy, and the colors are devoid of smooth transitions.
If you are fond of drawing, you have probably made a lot of drawings and paintings in this genre. In order to draw a still life, you do not need to spend time and effort looking for interesting objects for drawing, you can always draw good composition items that are always at hand. Use drapery as a backdrop, a small piece of fabric is fine. Arrange the objects so that you get several plans, remember that the objects big size should be in the background and be those that are smaller. Put an additional side color source, this will add volume to the objects. Regular exercises with such productions will allow you to hone your drawing skills.
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Sources:
- Composition in still life
- What is still life
Good still life is born long before you pick up paint and a brush. Success depends on how you choose the objects you will draw and how you arrange them in space.
Instruction
Think of a still life theme. Of course, you can put all the items on the table at once, but the components united by one story, guessed by the personality of their owner, or at least stylistically, will look much more logical.
Sort all the components by shape. It is desirable that it be varied - find objects high and low, wide and narrow. Otherwise, the monotony of forms in the picture will lead to the fact that everything will mix into one mass and the objects will simply “fall out” of the field of view.
Make sure that it does not consist of products and things that do not match in color. If you find it difficult to determine this by eye, use the color wheel. Enter an equilateral triangle into it. Its angles will indicate three primary colors that go well with each other. As additional colors, you can take shades that are on the sides of the main ones.
Choose the right background. You can lay out a still life on a drapery or uncovered surface. It is important that it be neutral in color (if the shades of objects are saturated) or combined with the whole composition. In any case, the background should not take the lion's share of the viewer's attention.
What is still life?
Still life is a genre of painting that depicts inanimate nature. The genre originated in the 17th century.
Still life is primarily surprising and interesting because it makes people see beauty and harmony in everyday, boring things that surround us all the time, but do not draw our attention to themselves.
The genre is not as simple as it seems at first glance: in most of these paintings, artists use allegory - they try to tell people something important through a certain set of objects, their arrangement, chosen colors, the overall composition, to convey what worries them, to tell about their feelings and thoughts.
Despite the gloomy translation "dead nature", canvases are often full of bright colors, delight the viewer with their originality and quirkiness, awaken the desire to live and admire the world around them, to see the beauty in it.
There are many types and subspecies of still life, for example, plot-thematic, creative, educational and creative, educational. They are also subdivided according to the colors used, lighting, color, performance time, location, etc.
The founders of the still life as an independent genre were the Dutch and Flemish artists. Initially, the paintings appeared in religious use. Also in the era of the origin of the genre, paintings of a gloomy nature with a deep philosophical meaning and dark tones, in the center of the composition, which were skulls, candles and some other attributes, became widespread. Then, gradually developing, the genre absorbed more and more new directions and over and over again became more and more widespread in all circles of society. Flowers, books, vegetables and fruits, seafood, dishes and other household items - everything is reflected in art. Some of the most famous still life painters were Ambrosius Baschart, Miguel Parra, Jan Brueghel, Joseph Launer, Severin Rosen, Edward Ladell, Jan Davids de Heem, Willem van Aelst, Cornelis Briese.
Cezanne, Paul. Still life with pomegranate and pears. 1885-1890 
Cezanne, Paul. Still life with apples and oranges. 1895-1900
In Russia, the genre arose at the beginning of the 18th century, but no one was seriously engaged in this, it was considered a “lower” genre. At the beginning of the 20th century, still life painting reached its peak; artists created their masterpieces, set themselves new tasks and reached unspeakable heights in mastery, used unusual techniques, selected new images. Russian still life, unlike the Western one, did not develop gradually, but at an accelerated pace. Creating in this genre, such Russian artists as K. Petrov-Vodkin, I. Levitan, I.F. Khrutsky, V. Nesterenko, I.E. Grabar, M. Saryan, A. Osmerkin, P.P. Konchalovsky, S.E. Zakharov, S.I. Osipov and many others.
I. Levitan 
I. Levitan
In modern painting, still life is undergoing a new upsurge and now firmly occupies a full-fledged place among other genres of fine art. Now it is one of the most sought-after directions in painting. Having a huge number of opportunities for self-realization in creativity, artists paint a wide variety of still lifes. And viewers, in turn, buy paintings, decorate their interiors with them, enlivening their home and bringing comfort and joy to it. Museums are constantly replenished with still lifes, more and more new exhibitions are opening in various cities and countries, to which crowds of spectators interested in art come. Several centuries later, having passed a long full-fledged path of development, still life is still relevant and has not lost its significance in world painting.
