The word still life is of French origin and translates as "dead nature." The term appeared much later than the still life genre arose. The history of the still life is quite long, dating back to ancient times. Artists of all centuries have sought to perpetuate the world around, and everyday objects best demonstrate the daily life of people, so you can see fruits and animals on various ancient Greek amphora, but this is not an independent genre. Until the 17th century, still life was part of battle or genre scenes. The golden age of still life is the 17th century, the Baroque era, when it becomes an independent painting genre. The selection of the still life genre was due to the Flemish and Dutch masters who began to depict household objects, admiring them, elevating the objective world that lives its own life and has the right to independent existence.
The artist in a still life depicts what is already lifeless, whether it be dead birds, ripped fruits, vegetables and cut flowers. It is worth noting that in still lifes there are not only dead, but also living creatures.
The Madrid Prado Museum features two vivid still lifes by Spanish artists: Juan Sanchez Cotán and Francisco de Zurbaran.
"Still Life with Game, Vegetables and Fruits" was written in 1602 by Juan Sanchez Cotan. The artist had a huge impact on the formation of typical features of the still life genre. The picture with a dark background depicts dead birds hanging on the ropes, carrots, radishes, with green, fresh leaves, dried onions, ripe apples and juicy yellow lemons - all of these objects look appetizing, but life goes by them every hour, so how a man invaded the natural world and appropriated the fruits for himself. The artist captures the moment when all these items have just been torn / cut / killed, have not yet lost their pristine beauty and celebrate their apogee before the final departure. The objects of the picture seem to be placed on the stage on which the spotlights shine, and the background is plunged into darkness, the same effect can be seen in Francisco de Zurbaran's Still Life (1650), in which four vessels lined up and seemed to appear out of the darkness, without human intervention. Mysteriously sparkling vessels seem inviolable, because a certain force is felt in them, which makes them peer into the vessels and into impenetrable darkness and wait for the appearance or disappearance of the object. Beckoning with their ideal forms and flickering, mysteriously arranged by unprecedented power, preparing to suddenly dissolve in the darkness, the vessels amaze the viewer with their mystery.
Items in a still life are correlated with the status of their owner, they can indicate the nature of the person. Kotan's still life indicates to us not so high status of the owner, since we do not see expensive interior items, but see what each person can grow. Still life of Zurbaran demonstrates objects of art that are created for utilitarian purposes, but have an aesthetic shell, so it can be concluded that the still life indicates a privileged status of the owner and a high financial position.
Still life can be endlessly examined, immersed in the objective world of the owner and perceiving the attitude of the artist, who wanted to convey a certain idea to us.