Still lifes are Still lifes of famous artists. How to draw a still life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Even people who are inexperienced in painting have an idea of how still lifes look like. These are paintings that depict compositions from any household items or flowers. However, not everyone knows how this word is translated - still life. Now we will tell you about this and many other things related to this genre.

Origin of the word "still life"

So, the expression nature morte came to the Russian language, of course, from French. As you can see, it is divided into two parts - "nature" and "morte", which are translated respectively as "nature, nature, life" and "dead, quiet, motionless". Now we add the two parts together and get the familiar word "still life".

Based on all of the above, we can conclude that still life is a genre of easel painting, the artist's depiction of a frozen, motionless nature on canvas. True, sometimes still life masters supplement their paintings with images of completely living creatures -butterflies, caterpillars, spiders and bugs and even birds. But the exception only confirms the basic rule.

Formation of the genre

The history of still life goes back almost 600 years. Until the 16th century it could never have occurred to anyone that it was possible to paint some inanimate objects, even very beautiful ones, with paints. Still life paintings simply did not exist in those days. In the Middle Ages, painting was entirely devoted to God, the church and man. Artists painted pictures on religious subjects, portraits were also held in high esteem. Even the landscape acted only as an addition.

But still, some elements of still life were found already in the 15th century by Dutch painters. In their paintings with traditional religious or mythological content, as well as in portraits, there are images of carefully painted flower garlands, books, dishes and even human skulls. A couple of centuries will pass, and the whole world will admire the creations of the so-called Little Dutchmen - masters of still life painting.

However, still life owes its separation into an independent genre of fine art not to the Dutch, but to the French. French artists such as François Deporte, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer and Jean-Baptiste Oudry formulated the basic principles of "subject" painting, formed its basic concept and revealed to the general public all the beauty and charm of still life.

The era of the Little Dutch - the heyday of still life painting

So, let's try to rewind a few centuries ago in order toto understand who the Little Dutch are and why, when it comes to classical still life, they are always remembered. The first Dutch still lifes are the creations of painters who lived in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Small Dutch - this is the name of the school of painting and the community of artists who created small-sized everyday paintings. Of course, they painted not only still lifes.

Among them were many landscape painters and masters of genre painting. Their canvases were not intended at all for palaces and churches, but for decorating the homes of the most ordinary citizens. At that time, about 3 thousand artists lived in little Holland, and all of them were distinguished by their enormous capacity for work and the ability to transfer the beauty of the everyday world to the canvas well. Later, art historians will call this time the Dutch Renaissance. It was then that the genre of still life became widespread.

The best Dutch still lifes

On beautiful Dutch still lifes, as in a showcase, various kitchen utensils, fruits, luxurious flowers, household items are laid out in front of the audience. Floral still lifes were very popular. This was partly due to the fact that in the Netherlands for centuries there was a cult of flowers and gardening. One of the most prominent representatives of the Dutch still life painting of the 17th century. were artists Jan Davidsz de Heem, as well as his son Cornelis de Heem.

Their picturesque creations gained popularity and fame largely due to the fact that they were masterfully able to depictflowers and fruits. Careful elaboration of details, coupled with a sophisticated color scheme and perfectly constructed composition, made their paintings incomparable. These artists painted luxurious flower bouquets, standing in beautiful vases, next to which butterflies flutter; fruit garlands; transparent glasses filled with wine; dishes with grapes and other fruits; musical instruments, etc. The famous still lifes of father and son amaze with their realism, subtle rendering of the play of light and exquisite coloring.

Still life in Impressionist painting

French impressionists and post-impressionists also paid great attention to the genre of still life. Naturally, their manner of writing differed sharply from the realistic sophistication of the Lesser Dutchmen, because the classical painting of the Impressionists did not attract. Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne, Van Gogh - all these artists loved to paint flowers and plants, because both are part of nature, the beauty of which they sang all their lives.

Auguste Renoir painted a whole gallery of beautiful aerial still lifes in his lifetime. Sometimes the image of a "frozen nature" is required by the Impressionists only as an addition. For example, in the painting "Breakfast on the Grass" by Edouard Manet, in the foreground you can see a magnificent still life of scattered clothes, fruits and food scattered on the grass. Van Gogh painted many unusual still lifes. Many people know his paintings "Sunflowers" or "Irises", but he still has such canvases as"Van Gogh's Shoes" or "Van Gogh's Chair" are all examples of still life painting.

Russian still life

It is surprising that in Russia the still life as a separate genre was not in demand for a long time, as it was considered almost the lowest of all types of fine art, which does not require either fundamental knowledge or special skills in painting. Only in the second half of the XIX century. Russian Wanderers were able to arouse interest in this genre of art among the Russian public.

Subsequently, many Russian painters were fond of still life painting. Still lifes of famous artists such as Igor Grabar, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Ivan Khrutskoy, Konstantin Korovin can be seen in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin in Moscow, as well as in the Hermitage. But the real flourishing of still life painting took place in our country in the era of socialism.

Photo still life

With the advent of photography in the world of art, still life photography has appeared. Today, many people are addicted to creating photographic masterpieces. Some pictures are simply amazing with their perfection and skill of the photographer. Sometimes, with the help of a camera, talented photographers manage to capture still lifes that are in no way inferior to the most famous creations of the Lesser Dutchmen.

How to draw a still life

In order to start drawing a still life, you must first compose it from some objects. For the first experiments in still life painting, it is better not to make complex compositions, a couple or threeitems will be sufficient.

Next, draw a still life in stages. First you need to make a drawing with a pencil or charcoal. Then a light underpainting follows, revealing the main colors and shadows of the composition, and only then you can proceed directly to drawing the details.