La still life, or also known as bodegón, is a key genre in the history of art that has fascinated the greatest artists throughout the centuries. Some of the most illustrious names such as Edouard Manet, Pablo Picasso or Paul Cézanne delved into this type of painting, whose main characteristic is to represent inanimate objects, endowing them with deep meanings and varied symbolism.
These objects may include fruits, flowers, animals, household utensils, and other items of everyday life. From its origin in ancient Egyptian and Roman cultures to its apogee in Baroque art and its subsequent evolution in modern art, still life remains a testament to artists' mastery in depicting everyday reality and transcending it with symbolic meanings.
Origin and historical evolution of still life
The representation of inanimate objects is as old as the history of humanity itself. In the Ancient Greece, still life paintings were already being made in temples and objects such as ceramics, decorated with still life. However, the rise of this genre came much later, in other times and places.
Ancient art
In Ancient Egypt, the first representations of still lifes date back to around the 15th century BC. Tombs were decorated with paintings showing scenes of food and objects useful for the afterlife. The most famous still life from that period is the one discovered in the Menna's Tomb, whose walls were decorated with detailed depictions of foods such as fruits, vegetables and fish products.
The Romans also had their particular fascination with still lifes, and Pompeye is a witness to this. Mosaics and paintings depicting food and everyday objects have been found on the walls of houses. In this context, the mosaics known as Xenia, which imitated the offerings that the hosts offered to the guests. In addition, the Asarôtos oikos or “unswept house” depicted food remains in trompe l’oeil mosaics, which shows a high level of artistic sophistication.
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, symbolism dominated still life in religious manuscripts. Here, still lifes served to adorn biblical scenes and emphasize religious concepts through the use of flowers, fruits, and symbolic elements. One of the most popular examples is the Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, decorated with coins, flowers and other objects.
Renacimiento
El Renacimiento It was a period in which knowledge of nature and scientific development led to a revival of still life. At this time, it was common to see paintings with flowers and plants from different parts of the world. Artists such as Jan Brueghel They made detailed paintings of everyday life and objects. During this period, painting of vanitas, where elements such as skulls and hourglasses symbolized the fleeting nature of life and vanity.
The Baroque and the Dutch Golden Age
In the 17th century, the Dutch Golden Age and Baroque painting promoted the importance of still life. Artists specialized in depicting luxurious objects such as porcelain, wines and exotic fruits that showed the wealth and power of society. At the same time, they incorporated religious and moral symbolism, giving rise to vanitas paintings. Willem Kalf, Georg Flegel y Pieter Claesz were some of the most prominent exponents of still life during this period.
This genre was also welcomed in other regions, such as the Netherlands and Spain. Still lifes by Juan Sanchez Cotan y Francisco de Zurbarán They are examples of more austere and simplified interpretations of the genre, in contrast to flamenco exuberance.
18th and 19th centuries: the rise and the criticism
In the 18th century, still life began to lose relevance in the artistic field due to the appearance of gender hierarchy defined by theorists such as André Félibien, who considered that still lifes were below other subjects such as historical painting, portraits or landscapes. However, artists such as Jean Siméon Chardin They kept the genre alive with masterpieces such as “La raya”, in which he depicted household utensils and everyday objects with astonishing realism.
At the end of the 19th century, the Impressionism and the Postimpressionism They rediscovered the still life as a field of experimentation for new chromatic and light techniques. Manet, Cézanne and Van Gogh were masters in the representation of fruit and flowers, endowing them with bright colours and loose brushstrokes. Cézanne, in particular, transformed the traditional rules of perspective, eliminating rigour and generating a style that was a precursor to Cubism.
Still Life in Modern and Contemporary Art
With the twentieth century The artistic avant-garde movements arrived and, with them, new approaches to still life. The first to explore new forms of still life representation were the cubists. Artists like Pablo Picasso y Georges Braque They used inanimate objects to study the relationships between shapes and geometry. Cubism allowed objects to be broken down and represented from multiple perspectives, which gave rise to a new way of understanding space in painting.
Later, the Pop art claimed still life as a testimony of mass culture and consumerism. Artists such as Andy Warhol y Roy Lichtenstein They reinterpreted still lifes with images of consumable products, such as the famous Campbell's soup cans or coca cola bottlesThis new vision of still life focused on everyday consumer objects and served as a critique of contemporary society.
Symbolism in Still Life
Still life is not only a visual representation of objects, but is full of symbologyThe elements chosen by artists often have profound interpretations:
- FruitsIn many cultures, fruits symbolize abundance, although rotten or overripe fruits represent the transience of life.
- Flowers: Flowers can vary in meaning depending on the type. Roses, for example, are associated with love, while lilies symbolize purity.
- Clocks or skulls: These are common elements in the paintings of vanitas and symbolize the inevitability of death and the passage of time.
- Glasses and jugs: In many cases, wine or water can refer to life or the soul.
In short, the still life genre is much more than a simple technical exercise or a representation of objects. Throughout history it has functioned as a means of transmitting religious, moral or philosophical messages, while also adapting to the aesthetic trends of each era.