Lisa Elley Peony
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1970s American Belle Époque Tea Sets
Porcelain
1960s Abstract Still-life Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Books
Paper
Artist Comments
Coastal Davenport, California, comes alive with the essence of the Pacific coast in artist Lisa Elley's impressionist seascape. Rugged cliffs meet the gentle ca...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist More Art
Oil
1990s Modern Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary American Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
In a beautiful, sunlit garden, a young woman immerses herself in the world of literature. Surrounded by flowers, she enjoys the company of words. Bathed in a ha...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist More Art
Oil
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Prints
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass
Artist Comments
I love a classic floral painting, and here is one of mine done entirely with the palette knife, which gives it amazing thick impasto texture. Spring comes ear...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Linen
1860s Other Art Style Landscape Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Armchairs
Brass
2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Wood Panel, Oil
2010s Abstract Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Recent Sales
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Still-life Paintings
Oil
Finding the Right still-life-paintings for You
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.