Clara Peeters was a pioneer of still lives, a genre that was considered "low" in the strict hierarchy that existed back in the XVIth-XVIIth centuries (and still a bit after that). In this hierarchy, religion and mythology paintings were the shit, followed by history, landscapes, portraits and still lives, far behind. Normally, skilled painters would go for the beginning of the list, but women were forbidden to do so at the time. So she put her skill into still lives and became a pioneer of the genre, starting its rehabilitation, especially in the Netherlands: Dutch still lives soon became quite reknowed. (She was also fierce enough to put her name on the knife so that no one could say she wasn't the real author).
But what's the point of still lives? Well, showing off first: painters loved representing various textures to express their skill. Here you can see moist olives, soft skin of the oranges; the geometric pattern on the pie and recipient are also quite extra.
Wine was also a staple: it's good, and it's also great to show light effects and transparency, and look at the little "bubbles" on the glass foot: also very typical. She used to show her own reflection in there too,
following Van Eyck's example (you may have seen his famous painting with a guy, his wife in a green dress and a mirror in the back), which requires quite some skill.
Enough on the skill, the point was also to warn people. Still lives rely heavily on symbolism, a precise code that was understood by everyone at the time. The fragile flowers in the foreground show the the fleetingness of life and happiness, the branch with leaves, which has nothing to do on a dinner table and is starting to wither, is there for old age, sugar (I like to think it's cocaine) is preciosity (the "count your blessings/check your privileges" of that time). Some still lives are darker, this one's message was yolo.
Thanks, I try to give info without getting boring :)
(I challenge you to a still life-type picture next time you post food! You don't have to take the challenge tho, it may be too much of a bother)
I took painting last semester. It's a lot of fun. It's amazing to see some of the colors used here, since they might not have been invented yet. One of my projects was painting a red apple, and an orange with only burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, and white. It's amazing how far you can stretch the color ranges, when you mix them just right.
That's super interesting, I wouldn't have thought of that and now I wanna try despite my potato skill. Would you post some of your stuff?
I also saw a vid of someone making a hyperrealistic ring drawing with only red, blue, yellow, black and white pencil, and it's logical yet impressive that they were able to make such a variety of colours with those.
But what's the point of still lives? Well, showing off first: painters loved representing various textures to express their skill. Here you can see moist olives, soft skin of the oranges; the geometric pattern on the pie and recipient are also quite extra.
following Van Eyck's example (you may have seen his famous painting with a guy, his wife in a green dress and a mirror in the back), which requires quite some skill.
Enough on the skill, the point was also to warn people. Still lives rely heavily on symbolism, a precise code that was understood by everyone at the time. The fragile flowers in the foreground show the the fleetingness of life and happiness, the branch with leaves, which has nothing to do on a dinner table and is starting to wither, is there for old age, sugar (I like to think it's cocaine) is preciosity (the "count your blessings/check your privileges" of that time). Some still lives are darker, this one's message was yolo.
(I challenge you to a still life-type picture next time you post food! You don't have to take the challenge tho, it may be too much of a bother)
I also saw a vid of someone making a hyperrealistic ring drawing with only red, blue, yellow, black and white pencil, and it's logical yet impressive that they were able to make such a variety of colours with those.