Still-life Paintings
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Panel
Artist Comments
A realistic rendition of an egg and its shell placed on a white ceramic plate by artist Kristine Kainer. "A freshly laid brown egg is ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
"Perfection is what comes to mind when looking at the work of the Almighty," says artist Jo Galang. "I found these captivating, perfect beauties at the grocery ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Nicole describes these bright lilies as bursting with juicy orange hues and the aroma of citrus. "The sweet taste of summer before...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Linen
1960s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Panel, Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Still-life Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Newsprint
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Oil
Artist Comments
A fresh bunch of yellow tulips dance in a simple glass jar against a subdued gray-blue and violet background. Nicole painted the piece in mid-November, and says she was so surprised to find such a lively bouquet at this time of year, hence the title. Painted on Arches heavyweight oil primed paper, which can be framed with our without glass.
About the Artist
Words that describe this painting: tulips, vase, floral, bouquet, flowers, still life, flora, realism, representational, oil painting, green
Autumn Sunshine
Nicole Lamothe...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Panel, Oil
Artist Comments
After arranging the composition for this floral still life, artist Nicole Lamothe was immediately attracted to the soft warm lig...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
"Hope is the belief that things will work, most especially when it seems otherwise," says artist Jo Galang. "Deep, never wavering hope is what we need to cling ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Part of Onelio's ongoing series centered around people occupied in various simple tasks. This painting depicts a butcher at work in his shop - it could be a s...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Still-life Paintings
Oil Pastel, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board
Early 2000s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
In this painting I got inspired by the little angel figurine playing the violin and the stamp of German composer Paul Lincke, also playing violin. The address on the letter is to give homage to William Harnett...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Wood Panel, Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Wood Panel, Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Panel, Oil
1940s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Linen
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
Artist Comments
A hyperrealistic close-up view of an eye surrounded by vibrant red and yellow flowers in full bloom. "The viewer cannot know if the model is a man or woman, a...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
1970s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Inkjet, Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
A refreshing basket of juicy red apples after a rainstorm. Raindrops slowly dry under the warm sun as leaves rustle in the cool wind. Artist Nikolay Rizhankov...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
"The still life is simple, but the combination of red and gray gives it sophistication," says artist Nikolay Rizhankov. A well-worn table stands against a muted background with cracks on the wall. A basket, a few apples, and a red mug...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
"Chocolate? Sprinkles? Powdered sugar? They are all here - sweet snacks from the local bakery," says artist Kristine Kainer. An essential selection of donuts,...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A closeup of a radiant bouquet of yellow, white and red roses. Artist Jo Galang received this floral arrangement as a gift from her children on her birthday. "Small and simple things can inspire and spark happiness," says Jo. "I decided to immortalize this gift so othe...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Jo Galang says this piece was inspired by a lovely bouquet she received from her son and his girlfriend on Mother's Day. "It was so beautiful, and the ...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Panel
Artist Comments
"Hibiscus blooms are astonishing," says artist Jay Jensen. "The brilliance of color exceeds the range of oil pigments. They have fascinated me ever since I vi...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Linen
Artist Comments
A worn brick sits dramatically in the middle of an abstracted space. Rendered in detailed layers of coral, brown, blue, turquoise, white, and yellow. "I found...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
"The historic Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles has a cafe on its street level called Best Girl," explains artist Hadley Northrop. "The floor is a classic bl...
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Acrylic
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Street Art Still-life Paintings
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Newsprint
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Acrylic, Oil, Paper, Watercolor
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Oil
2010s American Realist Still-life Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
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.