Still Life - BBC Bitesize (2024)

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Still Life - BBC Bitesize (1)

Still life

Still life art is drawing or painting objects that are arranged in a certain way.

These objects can be anything from fruit to vases.

The aim is to look and think about the shapes and size of the objects in front of you.

Still Life - BBC Bitesize (2)

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Where you look from

In a still life class, everyone will draw the same objects in a different way.

This is because where you stand to look at the objects will change the angle that you view them at.

So, your drawing could look very different to someone else's in the room.

The same still life, looked at from different places

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  1. Still Life - BBC Bitesize (3)

Slide 1 of 3, Bowl of apples, Here is a bowl of apples. You can see an apple on the left, outside of the bowl. You can not see the top of any apple.

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Light and shadow

Looking closely at these objects can help you to think about the light that is hitting them and their colours.

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  1. Still Life - BBC Bitesize (4)

Slide 1 of 2, Bowl of apples in black and white, If we make the picture black and white it is easier to see the lighter parts and darker parts

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Still Life - BBC Bitesize (5)

The details

Still life improves your looking skills and is a great way to start drawing.

The objects will not move unlike a person! We can take our time, slow down and notice the details of things.

Look at all the different colours in a red apple. Can you see red, orange and yellow?

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Paul Cézanne

Many famous artists have explored still life drawing and painting.

Paul Cézanne was famous for his still life paintings. He didn’t believe in drawing out the shapes first, instead he used paint straight away.

Paul Cézanne

Learn more about Paul Cézanne and his still life paintings.

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Still Life - BBC Bitesize (2024)

FAQs

What is still life BBC Bitesize? ›

Still life art is drawing or painting objects that are arranged in a certain way. These objects can be anything from fruit to vases . The aim is to look and think about the shapes and size of the objects in front of you.

What are the main points of still life? ›

Still life objects must be inanimate, such as tableware, fruit, dead animals, and vegetables. Objects such as skulls, watches, extinguished candles, and dead animals are symbols in the memento mori and vanitas themes used to send messages to the viewer. Memento mori laments the mortality of man.

What are the principles of still life? ›

When it comes to setting up your own still life, there are alphabetical pointers to consider: accuracy, balance, contrast, de�inition, ellipses and foreshortening. The images above illustrate how these principles can affect a still life setup, so try them all and get a good grounding in the principles.

What are the concepts of still life? ›

Still life includes all kinds of man-made or natural objects, cut flowers, fruit, vegetables, fish, game, wine and so on. Still life can be a celebration of material pleasures such as food and wine, or often a warning of the ephemerality of these pleasures and of the brevity of human life (see memento mori).

What is still life explained to kids? ›

Still life is the term for art work which includes different objects. Traditionally, artists would choose objects which were very symbolic. They would paint flowers to make the viewer think about life and beauty. They'd paint a skull to make the viewer think about death.

What is the theory of still life? ›

Still life is defined as a collection of inanimate objects arranged together in a specific way. The magic of still life paintings is that they can show us a new way of looking at the ordinary objects around us.

What are the four types of still life? ›

There are four main types of still-life art: Flower Pieces, Banquet or Breakfast Pieces, Animal Pieces, and Symbolic Paintings.

Can a still life have a person in it? ›

But there's many paintings that are considered still life that do include human elements - though they led to genre or scene paintings they started out as still life, they are called "Monumental Still Life" paintings, and they do include full human subjects as well as animals.

What is the purpose of still life? ›

Still life artworks are more than just visual representations. They are a dialogue between the artist's intent and the viewer's own experiences, that can create an intimate connection with the artwork.

What is the objective of the still life? ›

Still life drawing is a great way to build essential drawing skills like hand-eye coordination, creating shadow and perspective, and noticing finer details. If you know a creative mind who wants to start learning art, a drawing class experience gift may be perfect for them.

What is the meaning of the still lives? ›

/ˌstɪl ˈlaɪf/ plural still lifes. a type of painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects that do not move, such as flowers, fruit, bowls, etc.: We went to an exhibition of 17th century Dutch still lifes.

What is still life and why is it important? ›

Still life is art that represents inanimate objects like fruit, cut flowers, utensils, and other everyday items. These objects can be natural or manmade. The composition can be simple with just one or two objects featured or more complex, with a variety of different items.

What is still life summary? ›

Still Life is a book about love and its incredible power to move us, unite us, connect us, and compel us “into Salvation,” as Forester describes it in Winman's chosen epigraph. The novel's action centers first on Tuscany then gritty East London and back to Florence with momentary escapades to Bloomsbury London.

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