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Why is it called still life?
1 Answer

Why it is called still life has to do with the history of the art genre. Still life painting became a distinct genre thanks to the work of late 16th- and 17th-century Dutch artists. They called their paintings stilleven, which translates to motionless or silent life in English. This term relates to the fact that Dutch still life artists painted motionless objects such as flowers and fruit. As the genre spread beyond the Netherlands, English-speaking artists referred to it as still life. Shop a selection of still life paintings on 1stDibs.
1stDibs ExpertNovember 26, 2024
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Shop for Still-life Paintings on 1stDibs
“Pear” 1991 by Robert Kulicke Still Life Original Oil Painting on Wood Plate
Located in Yardley, PA
About this work:
“Pear” 1991 by Robert Kulicke (American, 1924-2007)
An especially charming example of the intimate still lifes for which Kulicke is best known, made all the more di...
Category
1990s American Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Materials
Wood, Oil
Cubist Tabletop Still Life with Fruit
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Edgar A. (Ted) Batzell (1915=1996)
Cubist Tabletop Still Life Composition, ca. 1960.
Oil on artist board measuring 16 x 20 inches. Measuring 24 x 28 inches in a wide white frame.
Signed by the artist lower right.
Ted Batzell, was listed in Who's Who in American Art in 1957, and is now listed in Who Was Who in American Art. First in his class in the Master's of Fine Art program at Syracuse University he was awarded the highest honor along with the Augusta Hazard scholarship to study abroad. In high school he entered a nationwide poster contest and won a four year scholarship to Syracuse, where today for one year's tuition the cost is $45,000.
But he never got to use the Augusta Hazard award because World War II broke out and he went to New York City where he studied at the Art Students League and with artist Walt Kuhn as well as others.
Hired by the General Electric company art department in Schenectady, N.Y. , he progressed over the 35 years he was there (the only job he had until retirement), to an art director. At General Electric he was a "Madison Avenue Ad Man" for many years, like those in the series "Mad Men", spending every week at General Electric headquarters in New York City.
He was known to his fellow artists, many also renowned, as "the Renaissance Man" having a voracious appetite for reading and collecting art books...
Category
1960s Cubist Still-life Paintings
Materials
Oil, Illustration Board
Reflection (Abstract vs. Figurative, Warm, Vibrant, Modern)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Katherine Bello
Reflection
Mixed Media on Canvas
2020
Size: 30 x 48 x 1.5 inches (76.20 x 121.92 x 3.81 cm)
Signed, titled and dated verso
COA provided
*On Stretcher Frame, Gallery-...
Category
2010s Modern Still-life Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media
Pink Oyster Shell with Pearls
Located in Zofingen, AG
Series: Sea Within — Shells & Pearls.
Pink Oyster Shell with Pearls explores the luminous beauty of the sea through a warm, jewel-like palette of dus...
Category
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Enjoing a summer day
Located in Zofingen, AG
The composition is centered around a harmonious group of white porcelain vessels, united into a single luminous shape. Against this quiet white mass, the vivid cherries seem to come...
Category
2010s Realist Still-life Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Soft Surrender: Original Impressionism Floral Painting, Iris, Daisies, Light
By Karnish Art
Located in Pretoria, Gauteng
Title: Soft Surrender
Flowers Landscape Unique Original Painting Peace Kindness Abundance
This is a one-of-a-kind artwork by the established contemporary artist, Karnish.
"Soft Su...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Wood, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars

