A selection of paintings from the 20th and 21st centuries, including Ellen Altfest, a modern vanitas, and the fast food bodegone.
still life
From eccentric trompes l’oeil through a laid-up meal table to the domestics of Pierre Bonnard, still life painting was very much alive in the early 20th century.
Between 1884 and his death in 1890, he painted a great many still lifes, some of which are not only among his most famous, but the most popular in Western art.
A small selection showing how still life painting was an essential part of his art, even more fascinating and enigmatic than his landscapes.
Still life paintings by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley and Pierre-August Renoir show how Impressionism retained some traditional techniques.
More fascinating paintings of the studios of William Merritt Chase, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jacek Malczewski, Claude Monet and others.
These became popular during the 18th century, revealing models and those painting them, assistants, and many others. They also became complex allegories.
The exquisite and lucrative floral still lifes of Fantin-Latour, and those painted by artists on the periphery of Impressionism. Plus a surprise from Monet.
Seashells appear in Turner’s myths, Dyce’s fresco for Queen Victoria, twice in Elihu Vedder’s work, and in Odilon Redon’s. And a story from Rubens about seashells and colour.
Huge clam shells were a common feature in paintings of the birth of Venus, and other classical myths. They also feature in many ‘vanitas’ paintings.
The Eclectic Light Company 