Still life in painting - images of static inanimate objects combined into a single ensemble. A still life can be presented as an independent canvas, but sometimes it becomes part of the composition of a genre scene or an entire painting.

What is still life?

Such painting is expressed in the subjective attitude of a person to the world. This shows the master's inherent understanding of beauty, which becomes the embodiment of social values ​​and the aesthetic ideal of the time. Still life in painting gradually transformed into a separate significant genre. This process took more than one hundred years, and each new generation of artists understood canvases and color according to the trends of the era.

The role of still life in the composition of a painting is never limited to simple information, an accidental addition to the main content. Depending on historical conditions and social demands, objects can take a more or less active part in creating a composition or a hotel image, obscuring one or another goal. Still life in painting as an independent genre is designed to reliably convey the beauty of things that daily surround a person.

Sometimes a single detail or element suddenly takes on a deep meaning, gets its own meaning and sound.

Story

As an old and revered genre, still life in painting knew its ups and downs. Severe, ascetic and minimalistic helped to create immortal monumental generalized lofty heroic images. Sculptors with extraordinary expressiveness enjoyed the image of individual objects. Types of still life in painting and all sorts of classifications originated during the formation of art history, although the canvases existed long before the writing of the first textbook.

Icon painting traditions and still lifes

In ancient Russian icon painting, those few things that the artist dared to introduce into the strict laconism of canonical works played a big role. They contribute to the manifestation of everything immediate and demonstrate the expression of feelings in a work devoted to an abstract or mythological plot.

Types of still life in painting exist separately from icon-painting works, although a strict canon does not prohibit the depiction of some objects inherent in the genre.

still life renaissance

However, the works of the 15th-16th centuries play an important role in the Renaissance. The painter first drew attention to the world around him, sought to determine the significance of each element in the service of mankind.

Modern painting, still life as a popular and beloved genre originated in the Tricento period. Household items acquired a certain nobility and significance of the owner they served. On large canvases, a still life, as a rule, looks very modest and discreet - a glass jar of water, the silver of an elegant vase or delicate lilies on thin stems often huddled in a dark corner of the picture, like poor and forgotten relatives.

Nevertheless, there was so much love in poetic form in the image of beautiful and close things that modern painting, still life and its role in it already timidly looked through gaps in landscapes and heavy curtains of genre scenes.

Crucial moment

Subjects gained a real element in paintings and a new meaning in the 17th century - an era when still life with flowers prevailed and dominated. Painting of this kind has gained numerous admirers among the nobility and the clergy. In complex compositions with a pronounced literary storyline, the scenes got their place along with the main characters. Analyzing the works of the era, it is easy to see that the important role of the still life was similarly manifested in literature, theater and sculpture. Things began to "act" and "live" in these works - they were shown as the main characters, demonstrating the best and most beneficial aspects of objects.

Art objects made by hardworking and talented craftsmen bear the personal imprint of thoughts, desires, and inclinations of a particular person. painting is the best psychological tests help to track the psycho-emotional state and achieve inner harmony and integrity.

Things faithfully serve a person, adopting his enthusiasm for household items and inspiring owners to purchase new beautiful, elegant little things.

Flemish Renaissance

Gouache painting, still life as a genre people did not immediately accept. The history of the emergence, development and widespread implementation of various ideas and principles serves as a reminder of the constant development of thought. Still life became famous and fashionable in the middle of the 17th century. The genre began in the Netherlands, bright and festive Flanders, where nature itself is conducive to beauty and fun.

Gouache painting, still lifes flourished in a time of grandiose changes, a complete change of political, social and religious institutions.

flanders current

The bourgeois direction of the development of Flanders was a novelty and progress for the whole of Europe. Changes in political life led to similar innovations in culture - the horizons that opened up before artists were no longer limited to religious prohibitions and were not supported by the relevant traditions.

Still life became the flagship of the new art, which glorified everything natural, bright and beautiful. The strict canons of Catholicism no longer held back the flight of imagination and curiosity of painters, and therefore, along with art, science and technology began to develop.

Ordinary everyday things and objects, previously considered base and unworthy of mention, suddenly rose to the objects of close study. decorative painting, still life and landscapes have become a real mirror of life - daily routine, diet, culture, ideas about beauty.

Genre properties

It was from here, from a conscious, in-depth study of the surrounding world, that a separate genre of everyday painting, landscape, and still life developed.

Art, which acquired certain canons in the 17th century, determined the main quality of the genre. The picture, dedicated to the world of things, describes the main properties inherent in the objects that surround a person, shows the attitude of the master and his hypothetical contemporary to what is shown, expresses the nature and completeness of knowledge about reality. The artist necessarily conveyed the material existence of things, their volume, weight, textures, colors, the functional purpose of household items and their vital connection with human activity.

Tasks and problems of still life

Decorative painting, still life and domestic scenes absorbed the new trends of the era - the departure from the canons and the simultaneous preservation of the conservative naturalism of the image.

The still life of the revolutionary era during the complete victory of the bourgeoisie reflects the artist's respect for the new forms of national life of his compatriots, respect for the work of ordinary artisans, admiration for beautiful images beauty.

The problems and tasks of the genre formulated in the 17th century were not generally discussed in European schools until the middle of the 19th century. Meanwhile, the artists constantly set themselves new and new tasks, and did not continue to mechanically reproduce ready-made compositional solutions and color schemes.

Modern canvases

Photos of still lifes for painting, prepared in modern studios, clearly demonstrate the difference between the perception of the world by a contemporary and a person of the Middle Ages. The dynamics of objects today exceeds all conceivable limits, and the statics of objects was the norm for that time. Color combinations of the 17th century are characterized by brightness and purity of color. Saturated shades harmoniously fit into the composition and emphasize the idea and idea of ​​the artist. The absence of any canons in the best way influenced the still lifes of the 20th and 21st centuries, sometimes striking the imagination with their ugliness or deliberate variegation.

Methods for solving the problems of still life are rapidly changing every decade, methods and techniques do not keep up with the imagination of recognized and not so masters.

The value of today's paintings lies in the expression of reality through the eyes of contemporary artists; through the embodiment on the canvas, new worlds arise that can tell a lot about their creators to the people of the future.

Influence of Impressionism

The next milestone in the history of still lifes was impressionism. The whole evolution of the direction was reflected in the compositions through colors, technique and understanding of space. The last romantics of the millennium transferred life to the canvas as it is - quick, bright strokes and expressive details of steel cornerstones style.

Painting, still life contemporary artists certainly bear the imprint of the inspirational impressionists through color, ways and techniques of image.

Departure from the standard canons of classicism - three plans, central composition and historical heroes- allowed the artists to develop their own perception of color and light, as well as to demonstrate the free flight of emotions to the audience in an accessible and visual way.

The main tasks of the Impressionists - change painting technique and psychological content of the picture. And today, even knowing the situation of that era, it is difficult to find the correct answer to the question of why impressionist landscapes, as joyful and unsophisticated as poetry, caused sharp rejection and rude ridicule from picky critics and an enlightened public.

Impressionist painting did not fit into the generally accepted framework, so still lifes and landscapes were perceived as something vulgar, unworthy of recognition along with other dregs of high art.

An art exhibition that has become a kind of missionary activity for famous artists of that time, was able to reach out to hearts and demonstrate beauty and grace. Images of objects and objects by all available means have become commonplace even within the walls of formidable institutions that profess only the principles of classical art. The triumphal procession of still lifes has not stopped since the end of the 19th century, and the variety of genres and techniques today makes it possible not to be afraid of any experiments with color, textures and materials.

What a strange painting it is - a still life: it makes you admire a copy of those things, the originals of which you do not admire.

Blaise Pascal

Indeed, have you ever looked at the fruit from the kitchen table? Well... except when you were hungry, right? But a picture with a fruit composition or a luxurious bouquet of flowers can be admired for hours. This is the special magic of still life.

Translated from French, still life means "dead nature"(nature morte). However, this is only a literal translation.

In fact still life- this is an image of motionless, frozen objects (flowers, vegetables, fruits, furniture, carpets, etc.). The first still lifes are found on the frescoes of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Still life (fresco from Pompeii) 63-79, Naples, National Gallery of Capodimonte. Author unknown.

When a friend came to visit a Roman, the rules of good manners demanded that the owner of the house show the best of his silverware. This tradition is vividly reflected in a still life from the tomb of Vestorius Prisca in Pompeii.

In the center of the composition is a vessel for mixing wine and water, the incarnation of the god of fertility Dionysus-Liber. On both sides of the golden table are symmetrically placed jugs, scoops, horns for wine.

However, the still life is not only fruits, vegetables and flowers, but also ... a human skull, designed to reflect the transience of human life. This is how the supporters of the Vanitas genre, representatives of the early stage of the development of still life, represented the still life.

An outstanding example is the allegorical still life Dutch artist Willem Klas Heda, where next to the skull is a pipe - a symbol of the elusiveness of earthly pleasures, a glass vessel - a reflection of the fragility of life, keys - a symbol of the power of a housewife who manages stocks. The knife symbolizes the vulnerability of life, and the brazier, in which the coals barely glow, means its extinction.

Vanity. Vanitas, 1628, by Willem Claesz Heda.

Willem Heda is rightly called "Breakfast Master" With the help of an interesting arrangement of food, dishes and kitchen utensils, the artist surprisingly accurately conveyed the mood of the paintings. And his skill in depicting glare of light on perfectly smooth surfaces of silver bowls and glass goblets amazed even the eminent contemporaries of the artist.

It is incredible how accurately and delicately Kheda was able to convey every little thing: the play of light, the features of the shape, the colors of objects. In all the paintings of the Dutchman - mystery, poetry, sincere admiration for the world of objects.

Still lifes by famous artists

Still life was often fond of famous artists. It is about the masters of the brush and their delightful works that I will tell you further.

Pablo Picasso is the most expensive artist in the world

Unique and inimitable - that's what they call an outstanding Spanish artist 20th century Pablo Picasso. Each work of the author is a tandem of original design and genius.

Still life with a bouquet of flowers, 1908

Still life with bulbs, 1908

In addition to traditionally perfect realistic, filled with light and bright colors, or gloomy, made in bluish-gray tones of still lifes, Picasso was fond of cubism. The artist laid out the objects or characters of his paintings into small geometric shapes.

And although art critics did not recognize Picasso's cubism, now his works are well sold and belong to the richest collectors in the world.

Guitar and sheet music, 1918

Eccentric Vincent van Gogh

Along with the famous "Starry Night", a series of paintings with sunflowers has become a unique symbol of Van Gogh's work. The artist planned to decorate his house in Arles with sunflowers for the arrival of his friend Paul Gauguin.

“The sky is a delightful blue. The sun's rays are pale yellow. This is a soft, magical combination of sky blue and yellow tones from the paintings of Vermeer of Delft ... I can not write something so beautiful ... " Van Gogh said doomedly. Perhaps that is why the artist painted sunflowers countless times.

Vase with 12 sunflowers, 1889

Unhappy love, poverty and rejection of his work encourage the artist to crazy deeds and badly undermine his health. But about painting talented painter stubbornly wrote: "Even if I fall ninety-nine times, I will still get up for the hundredth time."

Still life with red poppies and daisies. Auvers, June 1890.

Irises. Saint-Remy, May 1890

All-encompassing still lifes by Paul Cezanne

"I want to restore eternity to nature",- liked to repeat the great French artist Paul Cezanne. The artist depicted not a random play of light and shadow, not changing, but the constant characteristics of objects.

In an effort to show objects from all sides, he describes them in such a way that the viewer admires the still life, as if from different angles. We see the table from above, the tablecloth and fruit from the side, the box in the table from below, and the jug from different sides simultaneously.

Peaches and Pears, 1895

Still life with cherries and peaches, 1883-1887

Still lifes by contemporary artists

A palette of colors and a wide variety of shades allows the current masters of still life to achieve incredible realism and beauty. Do you want to admire the impressive paintings of talented contemporaries?

Briton Cecil Kennedy

It is impossible to take your eyes off the paintings of this artist - his herbs are so enchanting! Mmm... I think I can already smell these amazing beautiful flowers. And you?

Cecil Kennedy is rightfully considered the most outstanding British artist of our time. Winner of several prestigious awards and a favorite of many " the mighty of the world this, ”Kennedy nevertheless became famous only when he was well over 40.

Belgian artist Julian Stappers

Information about the life of the Belgian artist Julian Stappers is scarce, which cannot be said about his paintings. Cheerful still lifes of the artist are in the collections of the richest people in the world.

Gregory Van Raalte

Contemporary American artist Gregory Van Raalte pays special attention to the play of light and shadow. The artist is convinced that the light should not fall directly, but through the forest, tree leaves, flower petals, or reflected from the surface of the water.

The talented artist lives in New York. He is fond of drawing still lifes in watercolor technique.

Iranian artist Ali Akbar Sadehi

Ali Akbar Sadeghi is one of the most successful Iranian artists. In his works, he skillfully combines the compositions of traditional Iranian paintings, Persian cultural myths with iconography and stained glass art.

Still lifes by modern Ukrainian artists

Whatever you say, but in the Ukrainian masters of the brush - their own, unique vision of His Majesty's still life. And now I will prove it to you.

Sergei Shapovalov

Paintings by Sergei Shapovalov are full of sunbeams. Each of his masterpieces is filled with light, goodness and love for native land. And the artist was born in the village of Ingulo-Kamenka, Novgorodkovsky district, Kirovograd region.

Sergey Shapovalov - Honored Artist of Ukraine, member National Union artists.

Igor Derkachev

Ukrainian artist Igor Derkachev was born in 1945 in Dnepropetrovsk, where he still lives. For twenty-five years he attended the art studio of the House of Culture of Students. Y. Gagarin, first as a student, and then as a teacher.

The artist's paintings are pierced with warmth, love for native traditions and gifts of nature. This special warmth through the paintings of the author is transmitted to all admirers of his work.

Viktor Dovbenko

According to the author, his still lifes are a mirror of his own feelings and moods. In bouquets of roses, in scatterings of cornflowers, asters and dahlias, in "fragrant" forest paintings - a unique summer aroma and priceless gifts of the rich nature of Ukraine.

Let's move on to the final stage of this series of posts about the still life genre. It will be dedicated to the work of Russian artists.

Let's start with Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy (1783-1873). Still life graphics by F.P. Tolstoy, a famous Russian sculptor, medalist, draftsman and painter, probably the most outstanding and valuable part of his creative heritage, although the artist himself said that he created these works "in his free time from serious studies."

The main property of Tolstoy's still life drawings is their illusory nature. The artist carefully copied nature. He tried, in his own words, "with strict distinctness to transfer from nature to paper the copied flower as it is, with all the smallest details belonging to this flower." To mislead the viewer, Tolstoy used such illusionistic techniques as the image of dew drops or translucent paper covering the drawing and helping to deceive the eye.

Ilya Efimofich Repin (1844-1930) also repeatedly turned to such a still life motif as flowers. These works include the painting “Autumn Bouquet” (1892, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), where the artist depicts an autumn landscape with equal attention, a young woman standing against the backdrop of golden trees, and a modest bouquet of yellow and white flowers in her hands.

I. Repin. Autumn bouquet. Portrait of Vera Repina. 1892, Tretyakov Gallery

The history of the painting “Apples and Leaves” is somewhat unusual. The still life, combining fruits and leaves, was staged for Repin's student, V.A. Serov. The teacher liked the subject composition so much that he decided to write such a still life himself. Flowers and fruits attracted many artists, who preferred these, among other things, to show the world of nature most poetically and beautifully. Even I.N. Kramskoy, who was dismissive of this genre, also paid tribute to still life, creating a spectacular painting “Bouquet of Flowers. Phloxes” (1884, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow).

Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (1865-1911) is known to most of us as an artist who paid attention in his work to landscape, portrait and history painting. However, it should be noted that the subject in his work always played an important role and often occupied the same equal position as other elements of the composition. A little higher, I already mentioned his student work "Apples on the Leaves", 1879, made under the direction of Repin. If we compare this work with a work written on the same theme by Repin, we can see that Serov's still life is more etude than the canvas of his teacher. The novice artist used a low point of view, so the first and second shots are combined, and the background is reduced.

Known to everyone since childhood, the painting "Girl with Peaches" goes beyond the portrait genre and it is no coincidence that it is called "Girl with Peaches", and not "Portrait of Vera Mamontova". We can see that the features of a portrait, interior and still life are combined here. The artist pays equal attention to the image of a girl in a pink blouse and a few, but skillfully grouped objects. Pale yellow peaches lie on a white tablecloth, Maple leaves and a shiny knife. Other things in the background are also lovingly drawn out: chairs, a large porcelain plate decorating the wall, a figurine of a toy soldier, a candlestick on the windowsill. sunlight, pouring from the window and falling on objects with bright highlights, gives the image a poetic charm.

Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel (1856-1910) wrote: “And again it hits me, no, it doesn’t hit me, but I hear that intimate national note that I so want to catch on canvas and in ornament. This is the music of a whole person, not dissected by the distractions of an ordered, differentiated and pale West.”

At the Academy of Arts, Vrubel's favorite teacher was Pavel Chistyakov, who taught the young painter to "draw with form" and argued that three-dimensional forms should not be created in space with shading and contours, they should be built with lines. Thanks to him, Vrubel learned not only to show nature, but as if to have a sincere, almost loving conversation with her. In this spirit, the wonderful still life of the master “Wild Rose” (1884) was made.

Against the backdrop of exquisite drapery with floral motifs, the artist placed an elegant rounded vase painted with oriental patterns. Delicate White flower rose hips, tinted with blue-green fabric, and the leaves of the plant almost merge with the dimly shimmering black neck of the vase. This composition is full of inexpressible charm and freshness, which the viewer simply cannot help but succumb to.

G.N. Teplov and T. Ulyanov. Most often they depicted a plank wall, on which knots and veins of a tree were drawn. Various objects are hung on the walls or plugged behind nailed ribbons: scissors, combs, letters, books, music notebooks. Clocks, inkwells, bottles, candlesticks, dishes and other small things are placed on narrow shelves. It seems that such a set of items is completely random, but in fact this is far from the case. Looking at such still lifes, one can guess about the interests of artists who were engaged in playing music, reading, and who were fond of art. Masters lovingly and diligently depicted things dear to them. These paintings touch with their sincerity and immediacy of perception of nature.

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev (1878-1927) also devoted a lot of his work to the genre of still life. On his cheerful canvases, one can see bright satin fabrics, sparkling copper samovars, the brilliance of faience and porcelain, red slices of watermelon, grape clusters, apples, and mouth-watering muffins. One of his remarkable paintings is "The Merchant for Tea", 1918. It is impossible not to admire the bright splendor of the objects shown on the canvas. A sparkling samovar, bright red pulp of watermelons, glossy apples and transparent grapes, a glass vase with jam, a gilded sugar bowl and a cup standing in front of the merchant's wife - all these things bring a festive mood to the image.

In the genre of still life, much attention was paid to the so-called "dummy still lifes". Many “deceitful” still lifes, despite the fact that their main task was to mislead the viewer, have undoubted artistic merit, especially noticeable in museums, where, hung on the walls, such compositions, of course, cannot deceive the public. But there are also exceptions. For example, “Still Life with Books”, made by P.G. Bogomolov, is inserted into an illusory "bookcase", and visitors do not immediately realize that this is just a picture.

Very good “Still Life with a Parrot” (1737) G.N. Teplov. With the help of clear, clear lines, turning into soft, smooth contours, light, transparent shadows, subtle color nuances, the artist shows a variety of objects hung on a plank wall. Masterfully rendered wood, bluish, pink, yellowish shades which help to create an almost real feeling of fresh smell of freshly planed wood.

Russian still lifes-"tricks" of the 18th century testify to the fact that artists are still not skillfully conveying space and volumes. It is more important for them to show the texture of objects, as if transferred to the canvas from reality. Unlike Dutch still lifes, where things absorbed by the light environment are depicted in unity with it, in the paintings of Russian masters, objects painted very carefully, even petty, live as if on their own, regardless of the surrounding space.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the school of A.G. Venetsianov, who opposed the strict delimitation of genres and sought to teach his pupils a holistic vision of nature.

A.G. Venetsianov. Barnyard, 1821-23

The Venetian school opened a new genre for Russian art - the interior. The artists showed various rooms of the noble house: living rooms, bedrooms, studies, kitchens, classrooms, people's rooms, etc. In these works, an important place was given to the depiction of various objects, although the still life itself was of little interest to representatives of the Venetsianov circle (in any case, very few still lifes made by the famous painter's students have survived). Nevertheless, Venetsianov urged his pupils to carefully study not only the faces and figures of people, but also the things around them.

The object in Venetsianov's painting is not an accessory, it is inextricably linked with the rest of the details of the picture and is often the key to understanding the image. For example, the sickles in the painting “The Reapers” (second half of the 1820s, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg) perform a similar function. Things in Venetian art seem to be involved in the unhurried and serene life of the characters.

Although Venetsianov, in all likelihood, did not actually paint still lifes, he included this genre in his teaching system. The artist wrote: Inanimate things are not subject to those diverse changes that are characteristic of animate objects, they stand, hold themselves calmly, motionless before an inexperienced artist and give him time to penetrate more accurately and more judiciously, to peer into the relationship of one part to another, both in lines, and in light and shadow by color itself. , which depend on the place occupied by objects”.

Of course, still life played a big role in the pedagogical system of the Academy of Arts in the XVIII- 19th century x (in the classroom, the pupils made copies from the still lifes of the Dutch masters), but it was Venetsianov, who encouraged young artists to turn to nature, who introduced a still life into his program of the first year of study, composed of such things as plaster figures, dishes, candlesticks, multi-colored ribbons, fruits and flowers. Venetsianov selected subjects for educational still lifes so that they were of interest to novice painters, understandable in form, beautiful in color.

In the paintings created by talented students of Venetsianov, things are conveyed truthfully and freshly. These are the still lifes of K. Zelentsov, P.E. Kornilov. In the works of the Venetians there are also works that are not essentially still lifes, but, nevertheless, the role of things in them is enormous. You can name, for example, the canvases “Study in Ostrovki” and “Reflection in the Mirror” by G.V. Magpies kept in the collection of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

G.V. Magpie. "Office in Ostrovki". Fragment, 1844, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Still lifes in these works do not act independently, but as parts of the interior arranged in a peculiar way by the master, corresponding to the general compositional and emotional structure of the picture. The main connecting element here is light, gently passing from one object to another. Looking at the canvases, you understand how interesting the world an artist who lovingly depicted every object, every smallest little thing.

The still life presented in the “Study in Ostrovki”, although it occupies a small place in the overall composition, seems unusually significant, highlighted due to the fact that the author fenced it off from the rest of the space with a high back of the sofa, and cut it off on the left and right with a frame. It seems that Magpie was so carried away by the objects lying on the table that he almost forgot about the rest of the details of the picture. The master carefully wrote out everything: a quill pen, a pencil, a compass, a protractor, a penknife, an abacus, sheets of paper, a candle in a candlestick. The point of view from above allows you to see all things, none of them obscures the other. Attributes such as a skull, a clock, as well as symbols of “earthly vanity” (statue, papers, abacus) allow some researchers to classify the still life as a vanitas type, although this coincidence is purely coincidental, most likely, the serf artist used what was on the table his master.

The famous master of subject compositions of the first half of XIX century was the artist I.F. Khrutsky, who painted many beautiful paintings in the spirit of Dutch still life XVII century. Among his best works are “Flowers and Fruits” (1836, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), “Portrait of a Wife with Flowers and Fruits” (1838, Art Museum Belarus, Minsk), “Still Life” (1839, Museum of the Academy of Arts, St. Petersburg).

In the first half of the 19th century in Russia, the “botanical still life”, which came to us from Western Europe. In France, at that time, works of botanists with beautiful illustrations were published. Greater fame in many European countries received by the artist P.Zh. Redoubt, who was considered "the most celebrated flower painter of his time." "Botanical drawing" was a significant phenomenon not only for science, but also for art and culture. Such drawings were presented as a gift, decorated albums, which thus put them on a par with other works of painting and graphics.

In the second half of the 19th century, P.A. Fedotov. Although he did not actually paint still lifes, the world of things he created delights with its beauty and truthfulness.

Objects in Fedotov's works are inseparable from people's lives, they are directly involved in dramatic events depicted by the artist.

Looking at the picture fresh cavalier” (“Morning after the feast”, 1846), one is amazed at the abundance of objects carefully painted by the master. A real still life, surprising with its taciturnity, is presented on famous painting Fedotov "Major's Matchmaking" (1848). The glass is palpably real: wine glasses on high legs, a bottle, a decanter. The thinnest and transparent, it seems to emit a gentle crystal ringing.

Fedotov P.A. Major's marriage. 1848-1849. GTG

Fedotov does not separate objects from the interior, so things are shown not only reliably, but also picturesquely subtly. Every most ordinary or not very attractive object that takes its place in the common space seems amazing and beautiful.

Although Fedotov did not paint still lifes, he showed an undoubted interest in this genre. Intuition told him how to arrange this or that object, from what point of view to present it, what things would look next not only logically justified, but also expressively.

The world of things, which helps to show a person's life in all its manifestations, endows Fedotov's works with a special musicality. Such are the paintings “Anchor, more anchor” (1851-1852), “The Widow” (1852) and many others.

In the second half of the 19th century, the still life genre practically ceased to interest artists, although many genre painters willingly included still life elements in their compositions. Things in the paintings of V.G. Perov (“Tea drinking in Mytishchi”, 1862, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), L.I. Solomatkin (“Slavilshchiki-gorodovye”, 1846, State historical Museum, Moscow).

Still lifes are presented in genre scenes by A.L. Yushanova (“Seeing off the chief”, 1864), M.K. Klodt (“The Sick Musician”, 1855), V.I. Jacobi (“Pedlar”, 1858), A.I. Korzukhin (“Before confession”, 1877; “In the monastery hotel”, 1882), K.E. Makovsky (“Alekseich”, 1882). All these canvases are now kept in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery.

K.E. Makovsky. “Alekseich”, 1882, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

In the 1870s-1880s, everyday life remained the leading genre in Russian painting, although landscape and portrait also occupied an important place. A huge role for the further development of Russian art was played by the Wanderers, who sought to show the truth of life in their works. Artists began to give great importance working from nature and therefore increasingly turned to landscape and still life, although many of them considered the latter a waste of time, a senseless passion for a form devoid of inner content. So, I.N. Kramskoy mentioned the famous French painter, who did not neglect still lifes, in a letter to V.M. Vasnetsov: “It won’t talented person spend time on the image, let's say, basins, fish, etc. This is good for people who already have everything, but we have a lot of work to do.”

Nevertheless, many Russian artists who did not paint still lifes admired them, looking at the canvases of Western masters. For example, V.D. Polenov, who was in France, wrote to I.N. Kramskoy: “Look how things are going here, like clockwork, everyone works in his own way, in a variety of directions, what anyone likes, and all this is appreciated and paid. With us, what matters most is what is done, but here it is how it is done. For example, for a copper basin with two fish they pay twenty thousand francs, and in addition they consider this copper craftsman the first painter, and, perhaps, not without reason.

Visited in 1883 at an exhibition in Paris V.I. Surikov admired landscapes, still lifes and paintings depicting flowers. He wrote: “Gibert's fish are good. Fish slime is conveyed masterfully, colorfully, kneaded tone on tone.” There is in his letter to P.M. Tretyakov and such words: “And Gilbert's fish are a miracle. Well, you can completely take it in your hands, it’s written to deceit. ”

Both Polenov and Surikov could become excellent masters of still life, as evidenced by the masterfully painted objects in their compositions (“Sick” by Polenova, “Menshikov in Berezov” by Surikov).