Great Still Life Painters in Western Art
Selected Masters, from the Renaissance to Photorealism
Aug 2, 2009
While some readers may wish to investigate entire periods of art history, the list below focuses on individual artists and is designed simply to jump-start an awareness of the still life idiom. Anyone beginning to study painting for either practice or appreciation is encouraged to explore beyond this sampling.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, (1571–1610)
Although not a frequent practitioner of still life painting, Caravaggio was among the first European artists to treat everyday objects as self-contained, non-religious subjects. This is somewhat ironic given the pictorial innovations and astonishing force of his religious scenes.
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699–1799)
His work predates modernist painting by more than a century, yet Chardin created an approach to the still life that inspired many 19th- and 20th-century artists. Those who claim him as an influence include Cezanne, Matisse,and Morandi. For more on these artists, see below.
Paul Cezanne (1839–1906)
Now considered one of the greatest painters of the modernist era, Paul Cezanne forged unique methods of composition and color contrast that made Cubism and much of Matisse’s work possible. His still lifes have the same vibrant yet monumental character that marks his landscapes and portraits.
William Harnett (1848–1892)
A master of the trompe l'oeil tradition in American painting, Harnett created beautiful images of items culled from the natural world. Many of his pictures have a totemic quality, with their contents arranged in intricate and thoughtfully organized patterns.
Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947)
Bonnard’s still lifes (and, indeed, most of his ouvre) are intensely colorful and lavishly populated with objects, imparting a sense of decadence and leisure. Despite this, Bonnard was a founding member of Les Nabis, a group dedicated to spirituality and symbolism in painting.
Georges Braque (1882–1963)
Through his interaction with Pablo Picasso, Braque helped to bring Cubism into existence. His pictorial style, however, progressed in a direction far different from that of his Spanish colleague. Braque focused on still life painting, employing a sensitive approach marked by sombre colors and loose, elegant brushwork.
Juan Gris (1887–1927)
Like Braque, Gris chose to explore and expand still life conventions for all they were worth. His brand of Cubism is viewed by many as the ultimate expression of the movement. Rigorously composed and overtly cerebral, a typical Gris still life is nevertheless a thing of quiet, unpretentious beauty.
Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964)
Morandi’s dedication to the still life is unsurpassed among 20th-century painters. His sensitivity to form and color resulted in dozens if not hundreds of simple masterpieces, all possessing a luminous appearance that falls somewhere between exquisite and eerie.
Wayne Thiebaud (b. 1920)
Focusing on familiar views of commercial wares, Thiebaud’s work shares some characteristics with Pop Art and Minimalism, but is nevertheless richly painterly. His images of pies displayed in rows entice the viewer with their physical immediacy, as if each delicacy has just left the production line.
Ralph Goings (b. 1928)
A prominent member of the original Photorealist movement, Goings has produced detailed still lifes that capture the flavor and ambience of American diner culture. These often combine a certain grittiness with the sleek surfaces and streamlined contours of bottles, ashtrays, and other tabletop denizens.
Students of the still life form should also consider the work of Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Chaïm Soutine, and numerous others.
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