Many famous works of act are dramatic, like the depiction of Adam and God in the Sistine Chapel fresco painted by Michelangelo. Others are more about the dignity of the subject, like the Mona Lisa and most other portraits. But some paintings focus on everyday life, showing inanimate objects in a creative composition. This genre of painting is known as still life.

Although the lifelike depiction of objects in art has existed since the days of ancient Egypt and Greece, as a genre, still life arose in the 1300s. With oil painting techniques developed by Flemish painter Jan van Eyck and other artists, it was possible to develop highly realistic images of everyday objects. Later on, 16th-century Europe was hit with a wave of fascination about the new discoveries being made in the Americas and Asia, so still life enjoyed popularity as artists tried to capture these new specimens and souvenirs. However, by the 19th century, the artistic elite disdained still life and put other genres like landscapes and portraits in higher regard. Yet still life never completely faded away and continues to be a popular style for paintings.

What makes still life so appealing to artists--both painters and photographers--is the degree of control they have over setting up their scene. There's no people to interact with or major event that they need to recreate faithfully. All that's required is for them to paint what they see. The subject can be whatever they choose, like a simple bowl of fruit or a vase of flowers. The artist can decide on the color and lighting of the still life subject, so that everything they see can be faithfully reproduced through oil paint or photography. Instead of interpreting something that already exists, the still life artist can take what exists and remodel it to their own interpretation.

In the present day, still life remains a popular genre for both painters and photographers. However, modern technologies and styles have changed how still life can be created. For example, the Surrealists and Dada artists of the 1920s created three-dimensional still life using objects known as "readymades." Andy Warhol adapted still life with commercial brands in pop art paintings like Campbell's Soup Cans. Computers and digital modeling are becoming more commonly used instruments in the creation of still life, with some artists even using computer graphics to bring the audience directly into their work.

For a traditional example of still life, the most recognizable work is Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers. Van Gogh painted this vase of sunflowers while staying at a mental hospital in Arles, France, hoping to capture a lively style for his friend and fellow artist Paul Gauguin. At first glance, the sunflowers are little more than an arrangement of bright yellow petals. But when you look more closely, you see that each flower represents a different stage of life, from full bloom to wilting. They blend together into a whole, brought to life by the application of paint colors like chrome yellow. For van Gogh, these sunflowers were a sign of hope in his time of recovery, which he sought to express to his friend and mentor.

You can see some of the most famous still life paintings around the world in museums like the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Image by Ben Stephenson on Flickr