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In week one, instructor Tina Orsolic Dalessio will take you through the history of the still-life painting genre. You will explore the hidden messages and symbolism behind still-life objects. Then, Tina will teach you the rules of pictorial composition. You will learn several standard composition designs such as triangle, L shape, steelyard, etc.
Throughout this course, you’ll have access to the NMA community for feedback and critiques to improve your work as you progress.
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Reference Images (79)
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Tomb of Menna.
House of Julia Felix, Still-Life Wine and Fruit.
Hours of Catherine of Cleves
Albrecht Dürer, Hare, 1502.
Albrecht Dürer, The Large Piece of Turf, 1503.
Jacopo de Barbari, Study of a Dead Grey Partridge, 1504.
HOLBEIN, Hans the Younger
(b. 1497, Augsburg, d. 1543, London)
Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam
1523
Wood, 76 x 51 cm
National Gallery, London
Of Holbein's portraits of Erasmus, this is the most ostentatious, and not just because it is much larger. The background of the interior is furnished with a splendidly decorated pilaster and a shelf with books and a glass carafe, all of which help to ennoble the sitter. On the edge of the book reclining on the shelf is a Latin couplet composed by Erasmus, which asserts that Holbein would sooner have a slanderer than an imitator. That seems to mean that his outstanding art could scarcely be imitated and therefore criticism from the envious is more likely than imitation.
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Author: HOLBEIN, Hans the Younger
Title: Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam
Time-line: 1501-1550
School: German
Form: painting
Type: portrait
Hans Holbein the Younger, Erasmus, 1523.
Hans Holbein the Younger, A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling, 1526.
Hans Holbein the Younger, The Merchant Georg Gisze, 1532.
Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, 1533.
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Flower Still-Life, 1614.
Vase of Flowers; Jan van Huysum (Dutch, 1682 - 1749); 1722; Oil on panel; 80.3 × 61 cm (31 5/8 × 24 in.); 82.PB.70; No Copyright - United States (http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/)
Jan van Huysum, Vase of Flowers, 1722.
Osaias Beert the Elder, Flowers in a Serpentine Vase, 1615.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436634
Margareta Haverman, A Vase of Flowers, 1716.
Balthasar van der Ast, Fruit Still-Life with Shells and Tulip, 1620.
Pieter Claesz, Vanitas Still Life, 1630.
Clara Peeters, Still-Life with Cheeses, Artichoke, and Cherries, 1623.
Willem Claesz Heda, Banquet Piece with Mince Pie, 1635.
Willem Kalf, Still-Life with a Late Ming Ginger Jar, 1669.
Juriaen van Streeck, Still-Life with Moor and Porcelain Vessels, 1670.
Caravaggio, Basket of Fruit, 1599.
RUOPPOLO, Giovanni Battista
(b. 1629, Napoli, d. 1693, Napoli)
Still-Life of Fruit
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Oil on canvas, 87 x 116 cm
Private collection
The painting represents a still-life of grapes, plums, watermelons, peaches, lemons, a cardoon, an open pomegranate, together with a shell, a snail and other objects.
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Author: RUOPPOLO, Giovanni Battista
Title: Still-Life of Fruit
Time-line: 1651-1700
School: Italian
Form: painting
Type: still-life
Giovanni Battista Ruoppolo, Still-Life of Fruit and a Shell.
RECCO, Giuseppe
(b. 1634, Napoli, d. 1695, Alicante)
Still-Life with Fish
1650s
Oil on canvas, 94 x 122 cm
Private collection
Giuseppe Recco was one of the most famed Neapolitan still-life painter of his time. The present picture is an early example of the painter's achievements in kitchen scenes, which he favoured throughout his first period of artistic maturity.
The painting is signed with initials centre right G.R.
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Author: RECCO, Giuseppe
Title: Still-Life with Fish
Time-line: 1651-1700
School: Italian
Form: painting
Type: still-life
Giuseppe Recco, Still-Life with Fish, 1650.
Evaristo Baschenis, Strumenti musicali, 1670.
Juan Sánchez Cotán, Still-Life with Game Fowl, Vegetables and Fruits, 1602.
Francisco de Zurbarán, Still-Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose, 1633.
Luis Melendez, Still-Life with Salmon, Lemon and Three Vessels, 1772.
GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco de
(b. 1746, Fuendetodos, d. 1828, Bordeaux)
Plucked Turkey
1812
Oil on canvas, 45 x 62 cm
Neue Pinakothek, Munich
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Author: GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco de
Title: Plucked Turkey
Form: painting
Time-line: 1801-1850
School: Spanish
Type: still-life
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Plucked Turkey, 1828.
CHARDIN, Jean-Baptiste-SimÈon
(b. 1699, Paris, d. 1779, Paris)
Still-Life with Jar of Olives
1760
Oil on canvas, 71 x 98 cm
MusÈe du Louvre, Paris
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Author: CHARDIN, Jean-Baptiste-SimÈon
Title: Still-Life with Jar of Olives
Time-line: 1701-1750
School: French
Form: painting
Type: still-life
Jean Siméon Chardin, Still-Life with Jar of Olives, 1760.
Henri Fantin-Latour, Roses, 1883.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438031
Henri Fantin-Latour, Summer Flowers, 1880.
Victoria Dubourg, Vase of Flowers.
Édouard Manet, The Brioche, 1870.
Édouard Manet, Still-Life with Flowers Fan and Pearls, 1860.
Claude Monet, Still-Life with Apples and Grapes, 1880.
Claude Monet, Still-Life with Melon, 1866.
Claude Monet, Still-Life with Flowers and Fruit, 1869.
Paul Cézanne, The Basket of Apples, 1895.
Paul Cézanne: Stilleben med stayett.
NM 2545
Paul Cézanne, Still-Life with Plaster Cupid, 1895.
Copyright 1995 Nicolas Pioch
Paul Cézanne, Still-Life with Skull, 1898.
Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888.
Raphaelle Peale, Melons and Morning Glories, 1813.
Raphaelle Peale, Still-Life with Cake, 1818.
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Frank Weston Benson, Still-Life, 1926.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10476
William Merritt Chase, Fish and Still-Life, 1908.
Matisse, Still-Life with Geraniums, 1910.
Andre Derain, Still-Life with a Skull, 1912.
Georges Braque, Violin and Candlestick, 1910.
Georges Braque, Still-Life with a Metronome, 1909-10.
Pablo Picasso, Still-Life with Chair Caning, 1912.
Giorgio Morandi, Still-Life Natura Morta, 1956.
Harnett, A Smoke Backstage, 1877.
Front; unframed
John Frederick Peto, Fish House Door, 1905.
Georgia O'Keeffe, Pineapple Bud, 1939.
Roy Lichtenstein, Still-Life with Palette, 1972.
Roy Lichtenstein, Still-Life with Goldfish, 1974.
LEONARDO da Vinci
(b. 1452, Vinci, d. 1519, Cloux, near Amboise)
Perspectival study of the Adoration of the Magi
c. 1481
Pen and ink, traces of silverpoint and white on paper, 163 x 290 mm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
In this study in central perspective, Leonardo worked out a background for the Adoration of the Magi. In the centre at the front there is already an indication of how Leonardo intended to achieve a connection between the perspectival space and the figural space, for he has sketched in rocks and grasses. In the panel he took this solution further, but decided to omit the planned roof construction, which would have been a reminder of the stable in Bethlehem.
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Author: LEONARDO da Vinci
Title: Perspectival study of the Adoration of the Magi
Time-line: 1451-1500
School: Italian
Form: graphics
Type: study
Leonardo da Vinci, Perspective Study of the Adoration of the Magi, 1481.
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Isaac Levitan, Village Winter, 1888.
Bronzino, Portrait of a Young Man, 1540.
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, The Silver Tureen, 1728-1730.
Emil Carlsen, Still-Life, Roses, 1885.
Claude Monet, Stacks of Wheat, 1890.
George Fredric Watts, Endymion, 1872.
Titian, Annunciation, 1559-1564.
Caravaggio, Crucifixion of Saint Peter, 1600.
Edward Seago, Norfolk River.
Jan Davidsz. de Heem, A Richly Laid Table with Parrots, c. 1650.
Jan Davidsz. de Heem, A Table of Desserts, 1640.
Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Still-Life with Fruit, Flowers, Glasses and Lobster, 1660s.
Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Vanitas Still-Life with Books, a Globe, a Skull, a Violin and a Fan, circa 1650.
Jan Davidsz. de Heem (Utrecht 1606–1683/84 Antwerp)Glass Vase with Flowers on a Stone Ledge, 1655 – 60Oil on panel18 5/8 x 14 inches (47.3 x 35.7 cm)The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo CollectionImage courtesy Peabody Essex Museum
Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Glass Vase with Flowers on a Stone Ledge, 1655.
Willem Claesz. Heda, Breakfast with a Crab, 1648.
Willem Claesz. Heda, Still-Life with a Gilt Cup, 1635.
Willem Claesz. Heda, Still-Life with Tazza, Tobacco and Peeled Lemon, 1633.
Willem Claesz. Heda, Still-Life with Pie, Silver Ewer and Crab, 1658.
Anne Vallayer-Coster, Still-Life with Mackerel, 1787.
Balthasar van der Ast, Sea Shells, 1630-1650.
inv.nr. 5096 a
Ast, Balthasar van der(Middelburg 1593 - Delft 1657)
Vruchtenstilleven 1623
olieverf op paneel
23.6 x 32.4 cm ; met lijst 40 x 48.5 cm
Collectie Centraal Museum, Utrecht; aankoop 1924
Image & copyrights CMU/ Adriaan van Dam 2016-01-27
Balthasar van der Ast, Still-Life of Fruit, 1623.
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1. Instructor Intro
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2. Course Overview
3m 2s -
3. Learning Recommendation
24s -
4. Definition, Symbolism, and History of Still-life Painting
21m 24s -
5. History of Still-life Painting Continued
11m 34s -
6. Rules of Pictorial Composition
21m 6s -
7. How to Apply the Lessons Learned to Your Still-Life
8m 33s -
8. Assignment
24s
