The Baroque age in art also saw the
surge of the Still Life. A still life is
a painting of an arrangement of inanimate objects usually showcased on a
tabletop or other flat surface in an enclosed space. We have all seen paintings like this before
and may have thought them simple or even boring enough, but "surely all
this is not without meaning."
In this case, the
"subject" is whatever is pictured in the image. The subject of a still life can be a glass
cup, a vase of flowers, a book, a skull, or (most popularly) an assortment of
objects. To the untrained eye these
items can at first appear random, but as you will see, some still life paintings
ambitiously tackle more subject matter, artistic form, color scheme, and
picturesque detail than landscapes or historical paintings.
Still lifes—and I distinguish: the
plural of "still life" is not
"still lives"—can offer a unique blend of genres for both artist and
viewer. By simply painting immobile
objects on a stationary table or drawer-top, the artist can have the chance of
practicing his trade on something decidedly easier than, say, a portrait, where
a live sitter is involved (who coughs, moves, easily becomes bored, and can
distract the painter from his duty). In
the case of a still life, the objects are all completely motionless; the artist
can take all day, or even a year—it matters not: the objects will still be
there.
Thank you for continuing to write this blog. I find it to be very interesting and I enjoy reading it often but what caught my attention this time was the Still Life portrait with the overturned silver bowl. More specifically, the pattern of the bowl. I have a small silver ring with a similar pattern, which is uniquely Dutch, that I obtained in Holland. Curiosity set in; how far back does this pattern go? You did not, unless I missed it, identify this painting so I looked it up. What I found was a very similar painting, the bowl is still upright, by a Dutch painter- William Claesz Heda 1590-1680. Wow! I know this silver pattern from the traditional costume of the men in the province of Zeeland, or 'Sea Land'. 18th century men of means wore this pattern as gold buttons on their collars and very large silver buttons at their waist. So it is known as the Zeeuwse Knoop, or Zeeland Button. I'm looking forward to learning more from you. :)
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