Silent charm of a dead nature, or what is a still life

At its core, the still life, if we speak of a verbatim translation from the language of the French, has two roots and means "dead nature". Although, for the sake of justice, it is worth noting that the language does not turn to call all this juicy, bright splendor such a phrase. But the fact is a fact.

About what a still life, it was known even in ancient Greece. Already in the works of Pliny there is a description of the picture of Zevkis, which depicts a brush of grapes. At the excavation of Pompeii, too, many images of this genre were found. Later still life will go into the shade, and in the first place will be portraits and iconography.

If we talk about what a still life is in the classical sense of this genre, then first of all it must be said that this is a kind of fine art (in particular easel painting) that conveys the features of inanimate objects that are placed in a single environment and unite into a group. It is this group organization that is the basic condition of the still life, it distinguishes it from portraits, landscapes and battle images.

The attribution of still life to easel painting is due to the organization of the motive, or, in another way, the setting, without which the drawing will not be perceived holistically. It is not true that this genre consists in the depiction of only edible and inanimate objects. Although, at first glance, what is a still life without them? But in the picture can be present and images of people, animals, elements of the landscape. True, they act as additional motives.

Our idea of what a still life is, will be incomplete if we keep silent about its varieties. Depending on what is the basis of differentiation, several types are distinguished:

1. The plot component of the picture makes it possible to single out a single-species one (image of objects of one kind, for example, only fruits), mixed (objects of different types - vegetables, dishes, flowers) and plot (people's images, inclusion of landscape elements) still lifes.
2. Coloring the image suggests a division into warm (predominance of yellow, orange, red shades) and cold (blue, green, purple) varieties.
3. By location there are still lifes in the interior and landscape.
4. The temporal category finds its embodiment in short-term (usual sketches) and long-term (long-term staging) images.
5. Depending on the task of the artist, you can identify realistic (objects reproduced as accurately as possible) and decorative (image in the form of lines, shapes, method of application) pictures.

But still the most important criterion is the technique of the image - watercolor, pencil, oil, pastel. Still lifes with watercolor are transparent and airy, the colors in them are blurred, color transitions are carried out imperceptibly. Such a technique, despite its apparent lightness, is very complicated, since corrections in the drawing are practically impossible. But this is the best technique for conveying the elusiveness of the moment for all its static, as well as the emotional state of the artist.

Still lifes with oil, as a rule, are multi-layered, they convey the volume of the objects depicted, create the illusion of space.

Regardless of the technique of writing, such pictures will successfully decorate not only the interior of a dwelling, but also any gallery. Our love for the beautiful is impossible without admiring the still life.