Asparagus by Adrian Coorte (active 1683-1707).
Sometimes still life painters concentrated on a particular item in order to give it their complete attention and immerse themselves in rendering it as close to the real thing as possible.
Raisin Bread
Still Life with Strawberries, no date by Levi Prentice (Amerian 1851-1935), Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.
Prentice is known for painting still lifes, often with fruit. He worked as a carpenter and an art teacher.
The Simple Life
Still Life with Rose Wall and Compote 1973 by William Bailey.
Bailey still lifes are among my favorites. The simplicity appeals to me and the compositions look random, but you can tell are studied.
Close Scrutiny
Still Life by Giorgio Morandi, 1946.
Throughout his career Morandi studied and painted still lifes of bottles in pale tones. His idea was to portray the pure simple beauty of the objects in pale natural light.
Kitchen Still Life
Soliloquy by William H. Bailey.
The first time I saw one of William Bailey's still life paintings I instantly fell in love with the combination of starkness and the items he featured.
Happy New Year!
Fruit Still Life in a Landscape, c. 1872 by Severin Roesen, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Now that is a selection of fruit.
Favorite Sons
Spring in Town by Grant Wood, 1942
Two of my favorite Iowa artists,
Grant Wood and William Bailey.
Both of them capture brilliantly the straight-forward simplicity Iowa stands for, to me. Simplicity, with under-layers of pride, truthfulness, and appreciation for life. Take care and stay safe Iowa.
Red Wall by William Bailey, 2007.
God is in the Details
Gone by Isabella Kirkland, 2004.
Influenced by the exacting reality of the Dutch Still-life, artist Isabella Kirkland studies the plants and animals she depicts in her detailed artwork. In Gone, she shows us species lost to man's expansion through colonization by both hunting and our tendency toward being oblivious to everything but ourselves.