Leeds Art Gallery posted this today: Still life as a way of describing a particular kind of subject matter in art practice has been used for a very long time. The Tate says, “Still life includes all kinds of man-made or natural objects, cut flowers, fruit, vegetables, fish, game, wine and so on. Still life can be a celebration of material pleasures such as food and wine, or often a warning of the ephemerality of these pleasures and of the brevity of human life (see memento mori).
From this it’s clear that some artists who make artworks about man made and natural objects are communicating something beyond the look of the things they are picturing. Paint, stone and plastic are just a few of the materials that can be used to make a Still Life artwork. The objects in themselves could also be used as well. In Still Life art, it is the selection, arrangement and picturing of objects that communicates what an artist wants to say. So what can Still Life art say about Stilled Lives, and can it help us notice how we are feeling and thinking?
We’ve put together a package of resources, including an electronic copy of a collection artwork and an art-film, to explore these ideas further. Just email art.gallery@leeds.gov.uk if you’d like to know more.
Image: Various Flowers (c1807–76) by Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Pena (c) the Bridgeman Art Library