Hi, my name is Erin and I am a student at the University of Louisville. I am a member of the National Art Honors Society and a Fine Arts major with an emphasis in painting. This blog will be dedicated to my senior art history project, an analysis of black and white still life paintings throughout history!
The aim of this blog is to inform you about famous artists who worked in this genre as well as provide you with clear examples that are easily accessible online. I hope to create a more inclusive art world and encourage people to look beyond their own culture and appreciate other cultures through art.
This blog is community driven; please feel free to contact me if you have a suggestion for an artist or work to include!
Thanks for viewing my blog and please enjoy the articles!
This article is a part of a series of articles on Monochrome paintings. (See below) The series is aimed at anyone with an interest in art and history, whether they are art students or art and design professionals. The most popular posts have been those about the historical background to still lifes such as Vermeer and Bottega, but there are also some fascinating posts about individual artists, such as Chardin and Cezanne, in this series.
For more information go to www.blackandwhitestilllifepaintings.com/blog/ or follow me on Twitter @artblawg
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Black-and-white still lifes are not always black and white. Many artists like to experiment with gray scale, gray toning, and inking. There are many different ways to create a black and white painting, therefore, one needs to understand the history of each artist’s style in order to determine their preferred technique.
Some artists will use gray scale for their paintings, others prefer to use gray toning, and still others prefer inking. Some will mix all three techniques. The name of the game is experimentation.
The end result of each artist’s experimentation may very well change or enhance the meaning of their work. One might even say that the risk paid off in enhancing the work’s quality.
The list below is a selection of some authors’ favorites as well as some of my personal favorites.* It was quite difficult narrowing down this list because there are so many black and white still lives worth mentioning.**
-Kate MacDowell
A black and white still life painting is a very specific thing in art history. You can also find other different kinds of artworks which use the same techniques as black and white still life paintings, but they are all different.
How did black and white still life paintings arise? Most of them were made during the Renaissance when painters used to work on commission, so it was quite common for them to make copies of an existing painting, or do a variation on a popular theme. But this doesn’t mean that the Renaissance masters didn’t do their own original work, too.
Black and white still lifes had been known from antiquity, but they were not really popular until the Renaissance – perhaps people just didn’t know how to paint them well enough before that. They became especially popular with Protestantism which emphasized purity and simplicity – ideal qualities for a black and white painting.
Black and white still lives were often of ordinary objects like peaches or books, but some artists would even paint emblems or mottos in black and white. In fact, some scholars have suggested that these paintings were often political statements about peace, tolerance, or other ideals (or about the lack thereof). Another kind of symbolic meaning that some symbols entail is that of the stages of life – from
You can browse through the writers we have been able to index by clicking here.
Perhaps the most important painter of black and white still life paintings was Adriaen Coorte. He was a Dutch artist who lived from about 1650 – 1704. His paintings were of the highest quality and his works are found in the museums of many countries.
Coorte’s paintings were not only known for their artistic excellence but also for their lush tones and meticulous brushwork. His pieces often depicted baskets and other everyday items, which he filled with fruits and vegetables, as well as flowers and insects, which he placed with great care around the basket or on a small table next to it.
Coorte always painted his subjects in such a way that they appeared both real and pleasing to the viewer at the same time, a great mark of his talent. In addition, he left behind an extensive body of work – nearly 400 paintings – which makes him one of the most prolific painters in history.
Each painting is done in oil on panel with fine detail…
I am a student of art history and I love to share with others the knowledge I learn about the paintings and the artists who painted them.
I am also an artist and I have my own artwork that you can find on my website.
My goal is to offer information about art history as well as other interesting topics, give some interesting facts about famous still life painters, and provide a space for people to share their thoughts about art.
On November 25, 1501, the Venetian Senate issued an edict that banned all artists from creating nudes in paintings or sculptures and from painting any form of still life. The stated reasoning for the ban was to protect public morals and decency.
The reality was Venice’s fear of losing its position as a major center for European trade. A few decades earlier, several northern cities had banded together in the Hanseatic League to increase their trading power. By banning nudes and still lifes, Venice officials hoped to keep their trade routes open with other parts of Europe.
An “acceptable” nude is that which does not excite the passions, especially lust; a still life is that which does not move around and thus distracts the viewer’s attention from more important matters. It makes sense then that the Venetians were so worried about these two kinds of artwork—they were seen as dangerous. Since they were used to decorate private rather than public spaces they could be seen by men and women alike, whether rich or poor. Looking at them might lead viewers to imagine situations they would never experience in real life. These imagined scenes might lead viewers down a path that would ultimately ruin them.
So it was with much secrecy that a group of painters
