# Still life

A table, a vessel, a few things arranged under a window: still life gave painters a subject they could control completely, and they used it to test light, texture and the passing of time. The genre's quiet surface often carries a moral about abundance and decay.

- [Still Life—Violin and Music](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-violin-and-music-met-10997), William Michael Harnett, 1888. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Breakfast Still Life](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/breakfast-still-life-aic-257286), Willem Claesz. Heda, 1647. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [The Killing of Three Warriors with Two Peaches](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-killing-of-three-warriors-with-two-peaches-cma-124754), 202 BCE–220 CE. Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art.
- [Fruit on a Tray](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/fruit-on-a-tray-nga-42507), c. 1840. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [Still Life with Fan and Roses](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-with-fan-and-roses-si-saam-1979-149), Thomas Hovenden, 1874. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
- [A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon?)](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/a-woman-seated-beside-a-vase-of-flowers-madame-paul-valpinco-met-436121), Edgar Degas, 1865. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [The Vase of Tulips](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-vase-of-tulips-aic-14561), Paul Cézanne, c. 1890. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [Still Life with Fish, Bread, and Kettle](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-with-fish-bread-and-kettle-cma-151555), Luis Meléndez, c. 1772. Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art.
- [Basket of Fruit](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/basket-of-fruit-nga-42506), c. 1830. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [Factory--Study for "Ironworkers, Noontime"/Verso: Still Life with Orange](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/factory-study-for-ironworkers-noontime-verso-still-life-with-si-hmsg-66-55-a-b), Thomas Anshutz, (1880). Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
- [Still Life with Shells and a Chip-Wood Box](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-with-shells-and-a-chip-wood-box-met-438543), Sebastian Stoskopff, late 1620s. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Woman in Front of a Still Life by Cezanne](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/woman-in-front-of-a-still-life-by-cezanne-aic-16648), Paul Gauguin, 1890. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [Still Life with Meat, Fish, Vegetables, and Fruit](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-with-meat-fish-vegetables-and-fruit-cma-315934), Jacob van Hulsdonck, c. 1615–20. Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art.
- [Bouquet of Flowers in a Glass Vase](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/bouquet-of-flowers-in-a-glass-vase-nga-94743), Ambrosius Bosschaert, 1621. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [Melons and Morning Glories](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/melons-and-morning-glories-si-saam-1967-39-2), Raphaelle Peale, 1813. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
- [Pomegranates and Other Fruit in a Landscape](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/pomegranates-and-other-fruit-in-a-landscape-met-436752), Abraham Brueghel. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Still Life](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-aic-21682), Pieter Claesz, c. 1625. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [A Hanging Bouquet of Flowers](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/a-hanging-bouquet-of-flowers-nga-76211), Abraham Mignon, probably 1665/1670. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [An Orange Note: Sweet Shop](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/an-orange-note-sweet-shop-si-fsg-f1904-315a-c), James McNeill Whistler, 1883 or 1884. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
- [Great Indian Fruit Bat](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/great-indian-fruit-bat-met-456949), Bhawani Das, ca. 1777–82. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Trompe-l'Oeil Still Life with a Flower Garland and a Curtain](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/trompe-l-oeil-still-life-with-a-flower-garland-and-a-curtain-aic-66042), Adriaen van der Spelt, 1658. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [Roses in a Vase](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/roses-in-a-vase-nga-52260), 1880/1900. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-with-apples-and-a-pot-of-primroses-met-435882), Paul Cézanne, ca. 1890. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Fish (Still Life)](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/fish-still-life-aic-44892), Édouard Manet, 1864. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.