still lifeA painting or drawing of an arrangement of

objects contrasting in texture, color and form in order to create interest within a composition.

Roy Lichtenstein. Still Life With Palette. 1972.

The thing about still lifes…A still life is exactly as its name suggests… still. That means, it should not move. Drawing something that keeps moving is much more difficult than drawing something that is still.

DO NOT TOUCH THE STILL LIFES UNLESS INSTRUCTED TO DO SO PLEASE.

Paul Cezanne was a French painter well-known for his brightly colored still lifes.

Paul Cezanne. Still Life With Bottle and Apple Basket. 1893.

Paul Cezanne. Still Life With Peppermint Bottle. 1895.

Paul Cezanne. Still Life With Skull. 1895.

Vanitas: A gentle reminder of man’s temporary

condition

Vanitas Still Life With a Bouquet and a Skull. Adriaen van Utrecht (1642)

Vanitas:A type of still life in which some or all of the objects

portrayed are symbols representing the theological doctrine that man’s time on

earth and his material possessions are temporary.

Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms: A Handbook for the Artist and Art Lover. Kimberly Reynolds with Richard Seddon

Still Life- An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life. Harmen Steenwyck

Objects frequently found in vanitas paintings are skulls,

clocks, sundials, hour glasses, flowers, books and money.

Vanitas Still Life. Rebrandt van Rijn

Vanitas Still Life. Pieter-Clasez

…vanitas is often associated with memento mori, which is

Latin for “a reminder of death,” whose function is to

remind the viewer of the transience of beautiful things.

Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms: A Handbook for the Artist and Art Lover. Kimberly Reynolds with Richard Seddon

The Ambassadors. Hans Holbein the Younger