Leighann Foster: What subjects do artists choose to put in their still life compositions?

This seems like an obvious question and answer but when I looked closer, like my last post, I realized it is not what I thought. The problem is, I have made assumptions about still life subject matter and what artists choose to paint. I'm writing down my observations and finding examples of contemporary still life paintings. The examples are taken from Pinterest and Google images.

I think top on the list for most artists is the subject of flowers of all kinds. Most of us associate flowers with still life painting. I started with the single flower of which there are many, many examples.

Next is the vase of flowers on a table with drapery.

Then I see flowers with other containers like bowls, cups, teapots, utensils.

There are a lot of glass containers holding flowers.

Teacups everywhere with flowers around, in, and among the teacups. Artists paint flowers on the teacups and place the compositions on flowered surfaces. The pleasantness of a cup of tea and flowers seem to compliment each other.

I wasn't surprised to find all kinds of fruit in flower paintings. The sweetness of fruit goes with the fragrance of flowers. What did surprise me was how few paintings there are of flowers and vegetables. There are some, but not enough to talk about. I assumed artists put everything under the sun in a still life painting.

I found a lot of flowers in front of a window, inside and outside of the house. The play of light was a huge factor.

And then guess what, flowers on chairs?

The next subject is fruit. Fruit is easy to find and set up and with all the shapes and colors it is the subject of many still life paintings.

There is the single fruit study or portrait.

Fruit painted in a group with drapery.

Fruit in a bowl goes together like flowers and vases.

Fruit painted in many different compositions. It was rare to see fruits and vegetables in the same painting.

Fruit placed inside and outside of windows.

Fruit found on chairs and other pieces of furniture.

There are plenty of paintings of food made from fruit.

From fruit to jelly to bread is a frequent subject.

And finally the apple core of which there are many versions.

Paintings using vegetables followed the same ideas as paintings of fruit. The elaborate fruit and vegetable painting of the 16th and 17th centuries aren't as popular in contemporary work. Artists are more interested in simple compositions, portraits of individual vegetables, detail, color, and lighting.

This is a portrait of Romaine lettuce. Different vegetables interested each artist.

Avocados are a popular subject. This is another portrait and cutting it open is like viewing two vegetables because of the seed. You can't cut a head of lettuce open and get the same effect.

Vegetables, like fruit, are set up in a small group. The focus is on movement, color, and light.

Then comes the larger group and sub groups with variations in size and color.

Compositions had other items like bowls that mimic the shape of the vegetable.

Mason jars are popular suggesting canning while adding a transparent quality.

Baskets are used a lot.

Crockery

Squash and pumpkins are in many paintings.

Drapery is often used and most of the paintings I found used shelves for the compositions. Rarely did I see other surfaces like chairs, or corners, etc. Vegetables aren't typically mixed with other foods but instead there might be a variety of the same vegetables. There are far fewer vegetable paintings compared to fruit paintings and artists rarely mix fruit and vegetables in the same work.

The next subject is the egg.