Still Life Oil Painting Reproductions

What is Still Life Art?

Still Life paintings are an ancient genre of art.  They can feature immobile artificial or natural objects, including flowers, food and drink, set tables, insects, and even dead animals such as birds and fish.

Today we explore Renaissance oil paintings and Modern Art.

What Era is Still Life Painting?

Still Life as an art form dates to ancient Greece and Rome and continues throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period.  However, it reached its height during the Dutch Golden Age, with paintings by artists Pieter Claesz and Jan van Huysum gaining popularity. Dutch Still Life paintings are some of the most famous art creations.  Although this art genre ranks at the bottom of the hierarchy, these artists turned it into a prized art form after landscape, genre, portrait paintings, and history paintings.  Floral displays and flower paintings are some of our most popular paintings.

Dutch Golden Age Artist, Pieter Claesz

Dutch artist Pieter Claesz is mainly known for his  Vanitas Still Life paintings.   Vanitas refers to a genre of painting prevalent in the Netherlands during the 17th century.  These oil paintings contain symbolic objects, serving as a reminder of mortality and the pleasures of earthly life.  Pieter Claesz paintings often include skulls and other objects. Examples of two paintings are Vanitas Still Life 1930 and Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill 1628.

Jan van Huysum, Flower Paintings

Acknowledged as the finest painter of flowers of the Dutch Golden Age during the 17th and 18th centuries, Jan van Huysum's colorful paintings are unrivaled for their intricate execution of fruit, flowers, and insects.  Bouquet of Flowers in an Urn, painted in 1724, exemplifies the artist's skill.  It is on view at the Los Angeles County Museum.  Another stunning example of van Huysum's paintings is Still Life with Flowers and Fruit c1715, held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Who is Famous for Still Life Paintings?

Today, Paul Cezanne is one of the most famous Post Impressionism painters of still life art. He transformed this art genre with oil paintings such as Fruit Bowl, Glass, and Apples in 1880. Cezanne's paintings moved away from Realism to focus on experiments with color and form.  Cezanne’s experiments proved an inspiration for the Cubism paintings of Georges Braque. 

Examples of Famous Still Life Paintings

Artists Giorgio Morandi and Henri Matisse represent Modern Art still life paintings.  Renaissance oil paintings come from Spanish painter Caravaggio whose painting, Basket of Fruit c1599, displays a faithful view of a woven basket laden with apples, figs, and grapes. 

Reproduction oil paintings for sale include still life art by Abraham Mignon and Van Gogh flower paintings.  Replica art is available in many sizes, and we specialize in large canvas paintings.