Still Life

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Lilacs in a Window Oil Mary Cassatt (PD)

The art of still life painting is a time-honored one which has been around since at least the time of the ancient Egyptians. Still life paintings were often used to adorn the interiors of Egyptian tombs with the belief that these depictions of food and other objects would actually become real and available for use by the deceased in the afterlife. The ancient Romans adorned their homes with paintings and mosaics of food and flowers which functioned as signs of hospitality and as celebrations of the seasons and of life. Down through the long course of history, still life painting has frequently been used to convey allegorical or metaphorical messages, often as part of a religious iconography. Among the first to break free from religious meaning were Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer, who made delightful studies of flora and fauna as part of their interest in exploring the natural world.

The English term, “still…