Still lifes are ... Still-lifes of famous artists. How to draw a still life

Even people who are not experienced in painting have an idea of how still-lifes look. These are paintings that depict compositions from objects of everyday life or flowers. However, not everyone knows how this word is translated - still life. Now we will tell you about this and many other things related to this genre.

The origin of the word "still life"

So, the expression "nature morte" came into Russian, of course, from French. As you can see, it is divided into two parts - "nature" and "morte", which are translated accordingly as "nature, nature, life" and "dead, silent, motionless." Now we put the two parts together and get the familiar word "still life".

Based on all of the above, we can conclude that still lifes - a genre of easel painting, the artist's image on the canvas frozen, immobile nature. True, sometimes masters of still life supplement their paintings with images of completely living beings - butterflies, caterpillars, spiders and bugs and even birds. But the exception only confirms the basic rule.

Formation of the genre

The history of still life has been on for almost 600 years. Until the XVI century. No one in my head could not come, that you can paint some inanimate objects, even very beautiful ones. Still-life paintings simply did not exist in those days. In the Middle Ages painting was entirely devoted to God, the church and man. Artists painted paintings on religious subjects, and portraits were also honored. Even the landscape acted only as a supplement.

But still some elements of the still life were met in the 15th century by Dutch painters. In their paintings with traditional religious or mythological content, as well as portraits, there are images of carefully painted flower garlands, books, dishes and even human skulls. A couple of centuries will pass, and the whole world will be delighted with the creations of the so-called Small Dutchmen - masters of still-life painting.

However, his isolation in an independent genre of fine art still life is not due to the Dutch, but to the French. Such French artists as François Deport, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, Jean-Baptiste Monnoye and Jean-Baptiste Udry formulated the basic principles of "objective" painting, formed its basic concept and revealed to the general public all the beauty and charm of the still life.

The Age of Small Dutchmen - the flourishing of still-life painting

So, try to rewind a few centuries ago in order to understand who the Little Dutch are and why, when it comes to the classic still life, they always remember them. The first Dutch still lifes are the works of painters who lived in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Small Dutch - so it is customary to call the school of painting and the community of artists who created pictures of everyday orientation of small dimensions. Of course, they wrote not only still lifes.

Among them were many landscape painters and masters of genre painting. Their paintings were not intended for palaces and churches, but for decorating the dwellings of the most ordinary townspeople. At that time in the small Holland there were about 3 thousand artists, and all of them were noted for their great capacity for work and ability to transfer the beauty of the everyday world to the canvas well. Later, art critics will call this time the Dutch Renaissance. It was then that the genre of still life became widespread.

The best Dutch still lifes

On the beautiful Dutch still lifes, as in the window, various kitchen utensils, fruits, luxurious flowers, household items are spread out in front of the audience. Very popular were still lifes. This was partly due to the fact that in the Netherlands, from time immemorial, there was a cult of flowers and gardening. One of the brightest representatives of Dutch still life painting of the 17th century. Were the artists Jan Davids de Hem, as well as his son Cornelis de Hem.

Their picturesque creations have gained popularity and fame in large part due to the fact that they masterfully knew how to depict flowers and fruits. Careful study of the details, together with a sophisticated color scheme and perfectly constructed composition made their pictures unmatched. These artists painted luxurious flower bouquets, standing in beautiful vases, next to which flutter butterflies; Garland of fruit; Transparent glasses filled with wine; Dishes with grapes and other fruits; Musical instruments, etc. Famous still lifes of the father and son amaze with its realism, a subtle transmission of the play of light and refined color.

Still Life in Impressionist Painting

Great attention was paid to the genre of still life and French impressionists, as well as post-impressionists. Naturally, their manner of writing sharply differed from the realistic sophistication of the Lesser Dutch, because classical painting did not attract the impressionists. Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Van Gogh - all these artists loved to write flowers and plants, because both are part of nature, the beauty of which they sang all their lives.

Auguste Renoir wrote for his life a whole gallery of beautiful air still lifes. Sometimes the image of "frozen nature" is required for impressionists only as a supplement. For example, in the picture "Breakfast on the grass" by Edward Manet in the foreground you can see a magnificent still-life from scattered clothes scattered on the grass of fruits and snacks. Van Gogh wrote many unusual still lifes. Many know his paintings "Sunflowers" or "Irises", but he still has such canvases as "Van Gogh's Shoes" or "Van Gogh's Chair" - all these are also examples of still-life painting.

Russian Still Life

It is surprising that in Russia the still life in the form of a separate genre was not in demand for a long time, as it was considered almost the lowest of all kinds of fine art, which does not require either fundamental knowledge or special skills in painting. Only in the second half of the XIX century. Russian Wanderers could evoke in the Russian public interest in this genre of art.

Subsequently, still-life painting attracted many Russian painters. Still lifes of famous artists such as Igor Grabar, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Ivan Khrutskaya, Konstantin Korovin can be seen in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin in Moscow, as well as in the Hermitage. But the real flowering of still-life painting occurred in our country in the era of socialism.

Photo still life

With the advent of photography in the art world, a genre such as a still-lifes photo appeared. Today, very many people are fond of making photographic masterpieces. Some pictures are simply amazing with their perfection and mastery of the photographer. Sometimes with the help of a camera, talented photographers manage to photograph still lifes that are in no way inferior to the most famous creations of the Lesser Dutch.

How to draw a still life

In order to start drawing a still life, you must first make it out of some objects. For the first experiments in still-life painting it is better not to make complex compositions, a couple of three items will be enough.

Next, we paint the still life in stages. First you need to make a drawing with a pencil or charcoal. Then follows an easy podmalevok, revealing the main colors and shadows of the composition, and only then you can proceed directly to the drawing of details.