Wm Demuth
Early 1900s American Impressionist Still-life Paintings
Oil
People Also Browsed
1820s Old Masters Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1870s Impressionist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Board, Paper
18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings
Oil
Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Gothic Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
Antique Mid-19th Century English Louis XIV Desks and Writing Tables
Ormolu, Brass, Bronze
20th Century Modern Portrait Paintings
Linen, Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Tang Animal Sculptures
Pottery
19th Century Tonalist Landscape Paintings
Oil
1870s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
18th Century Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 1900s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Board
1830s Old Masters Portrait Paintings
Oil
1910s Art Deco Nude Sculptures
Bronze
19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings
Oil
19th Century Figurative Paintings
Canvas, 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.