Still-life Paintings
1970s Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Fauvist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Nicole Lamothe captures bright and vibrant daisies on a green bowl. "These are the first buds from the garden, ushering i...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 20th Century Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Thoughts of love, imperfection, celebration, and strength inspire an intuitive abstraction of a birthday cake. Colorful tones and playful strokes create a whi...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Rag Paper
1920s Expressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Vibrant swirls of paint mimic the movement of blooming flowers and twisting vines. When artist Sheila Grabarasky dips her brush into green, the lyrical flow o...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s American Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Charcoal, Paper
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Modern Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Cubist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
19th Century Modern Still-life Paintings
Oil
1970s Modern Still-life Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Post-Modern Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1930s Modern Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Naturalistic Still-life Paintings
Acrylic
20th Century Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Panel, Archival Paper
Early 20th Century American Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Watercolor
1890s Victorian Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Watercolor, Ballpoint Pen
Late 20th Century Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil, Panel
20th Century Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
17th Century Old Masters Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Victorian Still-life Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Tribal Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Permanent Marker
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Still-life Paintings
Panel, Oil
20th Century Modern Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Cardboard, Oil
19th Century Baroque Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Satin Paper
Early 1700s Old Masters Still-life Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
This still-life oil painting vividly portrays three overripe pears featuring wrinkled stems and noticeable discoloration on their skins. With the light shinin...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil
1990s Modern Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Still-life Paintings
Oil
Shop Still-Life Paintings on 1stDibs
Still-life paintings work as part of the decor in nearly every type of space.
Still-life art, which includes work produced in media such as painting, photography, video and more, is a popular genre in Western art. However, the depiction of still life in color goes back to Ancient Egypt, where paintings on the interior walls of tombs portrayed the objects — such as food — that a person would take into the afterlife. Ancient Greek and Roman mosaics and pottery also often depicted food. Indeed, still-life paintings frequently feature food, flowers or man-made objects. By definition, still-life art represents anything that is considered inanimate.
During the Middle Ages, the still life genre was adapted by artists who illustrated religious manuscripts. A common theme of these paintings is the reminder that life is fleeting. This is especially true of vanitas, a kind of still life with roots in the Netherlands during the 17th century, which was built on themes such as death and decay and featured skulls and objects such as rotten fruit. In northern Europe during the 1600s, painters consulted botanical texts to accurately depict the flowers and plants that were the subject of their work.
Leonardo da Vinci’s penchant for observing phenomena in nature and filling notebooks with drawings and notes helped him improve as an artist of still-life paintings. Vincent van Gogh, an artist who made a couple of the most expensive paintings ever sold, carried out rich experiments with color over the course of painting hundreds of still lifes, and we can argue that Campbell’s Soup Cans (1961–62) by Andy Warhol counts as still-life art.
While early examples were primarily figurative, you can find still lifes that belong to different schools and styles of painting, such as Cubism, Impressionism and contemporary art.
As part of the wall decor in your living room, dining room or elsewhere, a still-life painting can look sophisticated alongside your well-curated decorative objects and can help set the mood in a space.
When shopping for a still-life painting, think about how it makes you feel and how the artist chose to represent its subject. When buying any art for your home, choose pieces that you connect with. If you’re shopping online, read the description of the work to learn about the artist and check the price and shipping information. Make sure that the works you choose complement or relate to your overall theme and furniture style. Artwork can either fit into your room’s color scheme or serve as an accent piece. Introduce new textures to a space by choosing an oil still-life painting.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of still-life paintings in a wide range of styles and subject matter.