Vanitas: The Symbolism of Still Life
Still Life is the best subject in art for learning and teaching the skills of drawing and painting. It teaches you how to look at objects and see them like an artist - with a conscious awareness of their outline, shape, proportions, tone, color, texture, form and composition. But what is still life drawing and painting? Where did it originate from? When did it begin? Why is it so important? Does it mean anything? Who is famous for it?
What is Still Life?
Still life is the art of drawing or painting inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers and household items which are usually arranged on a table or shelf. Artists create still life paintings for various reasons: to reflect the status of their owner, be it humble or haughty; for their symbolic meaning which reveals a hidden story or idea; to capture the transient beauty of natural objects like a flower or fruit; or as a controlled structure to express the abstract qualities of the visual elements.
Still Life art existed in one form or another since the time of the Ancient Romans and Greeks. Although there are examples of Ancient Roman still life, mostly in the form of mosaics and interior decoration that was preserved when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D.79, there are no examples from Ancient Greece. There is, however, a story from around this time in the book 'Historia Naturalis' (the only surviving history of ancient art) by the Roman writer Pliny who lived from AD 23-29. It tells us about a competition that took place about 400BC between two Greek painters Zeuxis and Parrhasius. Zeuxis created a painting of grapes which were so convincing that the birds flew around and tried to peck at them. In art, this kind of realistic painting is called a ‘trompe l’oeil’ (a French artistic term which means ‘trick of the eye’). Envious of his fellow artist’s display of skill, Parrhasius painted a ‘trompe l’oeil’ image of a curtain which appeared to conceal a painting about the Trojan War beneath it. On seeing his friend’s work, Zeuxis asked Parrhasius to pull back the curtain to reveal the rest of the painting. At that moment, Parrhasius claimed victory. Although Zeuxis had fooled the birds, Parrhasius had succeeded in fooling a fellow artist, an altogether more difficult task. Since the earliest times, Still Life has always been a subject that artists have used to show off their technical skills in painting.
Before the 17th century still life was usually limited to the background detail of religious figurative art usually with some symbolic significance. In Carlo Crivelli's painting above, the apples and fly represent temptation and corruption while the cucumber is seen as the antidote to these as it was a symbol of redemption. Many fruits had meanings that now seem rather strange. For example, the cherry symbolized heaven (it was known as the Fruit of Paradise) and the pomegranate symbolized Christ’s Resurrection. This is because in Greek mythology the pomegranate was associated with Persephone who returned to the earth every year from the Underworld, symbolizing the way in which spring brings new life after winter.
However, during the Reformation, as the Catholic Church’s patronage of the arts declined, and the patronage of dealers and collectors grew, a greater demand for still lifes emerged, particularly in Protestant countries like Holland. These early works were usually displays of rich possessions or lavish ‘banquet pieces’ which reflected the wealth of the patron. Alternatively there were the ‘Vanitas’ works: objects depicted for their obvious symbolic meaning, warning us of our mortality - the skull, the hour glass, the burning candle, the smoking pipe, the open book, etc.
However, as a subject in its own right, still life painting was considered to be a lower form of art. Some painters had achieved great skill in the realistic representation of objects, but it was not elevated to the status of a major art form until the work of Chardin emerged in the 18th century, followed by Cézanne in the 19th century and the abstract style of Cubism in the 20th century.
Developing Your Own Vanitas
Objective 1: You will generate 2 finished drawings; 1 with pencil and the other charcoal. Your focus will be on the use of Value, Line and Contrast to create the illusion of Form on a flat surface. We will research historical and contemporary still life's and incorporate your findings into your drawings.
Objective 2: Add an element of color to your drawing. Wherever you add color will create your Emphasis. Remember to use the rule of thirds to create your focal point.
Objective 3: You will create 1 finished color drawing using colored pencils. Your focus will be on the use of Value,Hue and Contrast to create the illusion of Form on a flat surface.
Objective 2: Add an element of color to your drawing. Wherever you add color will create your Emphasis. Remember to use the rule of thirds to create your focal point.
Objective 3: You will create 1 finished color drawing using colored pencils. Your focus will be on the use of Value,Hue and Contrast to create the illusion of Form on a flat surface.
Vocabulary:
Still life-- is the art of drawing or painting inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers and household items which are usually arranged on a table or shelf.
Vanitas-- vanitas is a type of symbolic work of art especially associated with still life painting in Flanders and the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Banquet pieces-- artworks which reflected the wealth of the patron.
Line--connection of points that defines a space; varies in width, length, gesture, direction...
Value--lightness and darkness
Contrast--differences between elements in a composition (created through size, shape, value)
Primary--red, blue, yellow
Secondary--green, violet, orange; made by mixing 2 primary colors
Tertiary--red-orange, yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green; made by mixing a primary and a secondary
Complementary--colors opposite each other on the color wheel
Split-complementary--1 color and the colors on either side of the complement
Analagous--3-4 colors that sit directly next to each other on the color wheel
Warm--reds, oranges, yellow; colors that appear to be in the forefront
Cool--blues, violets, greens; colors that tend to recede to the background
Achromatic-- using no color. Neutral grays, white and black are used to establish Value
Monochromatic--1 color and all of its values
Hue--a pure color
Tint--hue plus white
Shade--hue plus black
Still life-- is the art of drawing or painting inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers and household items which are usually arranged on a table or shelf.
Vanitas-- vanitas is a type of symbolic work of art especially associated with still life painting in Flanders and the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Banquet pieces-- artworks which reflected the wealth of the patron.
Line--connection of points that defines a space; varies in width, length, gesture, direction...
Value--lightness and darkness
Contrast--differences between elements in a composition (created through size, shape, value)
Primary--red, blue, yellow
Secondary--green, violet, orange; made by mixing 2 primary colors
Tertiary--red-orange, yellow-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green; made by mixing a primary and a secondary
Complementary--colors opposite each other on the color wheel
Split-complementary--1 color and the colors on either side of the complement
Analagous--3-4 colors that sit directly next to each other on the color wheel
Warm--reds, oranges, yellow; colors that appear to be in the forefront
Cool--blues, violets, greens; colors that tend to recede to the background
Achromatic-- using no color. Neutral grays, white and black are used to establish Value
Monochromatic--1 color and all of its values
Hue--a pure color
Tint--hue plus white
Shade--hue plus black
Requirements:
• Complete shading practice exercise.
• 4 sketches of still lives. 1 in pencil/ 1 in charcoal; 2 in chalk pastel
• Final pencil drawing; focus on use of Line, Value and Contrast
• Final charcoal drawing; focus on the use of Value, Color
• Final chalk pastel drawing
•Self assessment
Materials:
Paper, pencil, charcoal, colored pencil, tortillion, eraser
• Complete shading practice exercise.
• 4 sketches of still lives. 1 in pencil/ 1 in charcoal; 2 in chalk pastel
• Final pencil drawing; focus on use of Line, Value and Contrast
• Final charcoal drawing; focus on the use of Value, Color
• Final chalk pastel drawing
•Self assessment
Materials:
Paper, pencil, charcoal, colored pencil, tortillion, eraser
Pencil & charcoalPencil due October 2nd ,2015
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Colored PencilDue October 30th, 2015
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Resources:www.artyfactory.com