Still life essay

Still Life

Still life, in a painting, is a picture of inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers or books usually grouped on a flat surface. Although still life elements are present in Greek and Roman art it mainly flourished after the 16^th century. It became one dominant art forms of the early 20^th century.

Having studied the art genre of Still life and the many artists that work in this area I have decided to discuss the work of the French artist Jean Chardin (1699 – 1779) who is associated with the Rococo style and the French painter Claude Monet (1840 -1926) who is linked to the impressionism movement. The two paintings I have chosen are the oil painting “Basket of Strawberries” 1760 by Chardin and “Still life with eggs” by Monet painted in oil paint in the impressionist style.

Chardin’s subject matter is composed mainly of objects typical French kitchen as dose Monet in his on composition. Chardin is well known for his triangular composition used to create balance and focus within a picture as is created through a dark background. Monet uses a similar technique placing a white table cloth next to a contrasting black wall. Chardin also liked to use white objects In…