Still-Life
What is a Still-Life?
Still-Life
One of the main subject types of Western art.
Essentially, the subject matter of a still life painting or sculpture
is anything that does not move or is dead.
Still life can include 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.
In modern art simple still life arrangements have often been
used to experiment and explore form, for example the works of
Cubist painters
Aims
Be able to Identify Objects that can
be used in a still-life composition
-
selecting objects and arrange to create a still-life
composition.
Build observational recording skills
- By drawing the whole or sections of your still life from
different viewpoints, and media.
Pick out an object that you find interesting
(you are going to draw this)
Using just line, draw the shape/outline of your object, and
add in any detail you think is important
Change the position of your object so you are
looking at something different or from a different angle.
In a different colour pencil draw the shape of your
object on top of your previous drawing.
Choose 2/3 objects and create a still
life composition.
Draw the whole composition using pencil in detail, it can
be a line drawing, or a tonal drawing
Once you have completed your large drawing pick a
section and create a detailed study in oil pastel.
Georges Braque
He has used different views of his
objects in the same space to create
these paintings.
To understand how colour
was used in analytical
Cubism
We will look in detail at the analytical
cubist work of Georges Braque and
Pablo Picasso
We will explore colour using acrylic
painting techniques and processes.
Which artist Painted which?
In groups Match the information with the correct artist and painting.
5 Mins
Georges Braque
Le portug aise (th e Em igrant)
1911
Oil on Canvas
 Th is Portr ait Show s a guitar ist seate d in a wi ndow of a ca fé.
 Its c rea tive use of lette ring was the star t of a new direction
fo r Braque’s painti ng techniques
 The te xt helps the viewer to see the diff eren ce be tween the
flat 2d sp ace and the 3 d obje cts.
 The te xt provide clues to the lo catio n of the su bject
Grand Bal = A poster for A danc e
10.40 = Numbers from a bar bill
Pablo Picass o
Guitar Playe r
1910
Oil on Canvas
 Pablo Picassos Cubist still li fes of ten have r efer enc es to
music or instr uments.
 Of ten th e sh ape of an instr ument wo uld be used as it
rese mbl ed for the ar tist the shape of a womans body
 He liked to use ev eryday env iron ments and surro undings
as his su bjects.
 He deve lope d a very geo metri c style du ring th e analytical
cubist phase.
Task Two: Colour Palette
Using Acrylic
paints Try to mix
colours to match
the colours you
see in one of the
paintings.
5 Mins
Analytical Cubism
The main elements of Cubism were to
show a simplified subject from several
different points of view,
Analytical Cubism was concerned with
the breaking down, or analysis, of
forms
SYNTHETIC
Colour schemes were simplified, to
nearly monochromatic
(hues of tan, brown, gray, cream, green, or blue preferred)
in order not to distract the viewer from
the artist's primary interest--the
structure of form itself
Task 3: Exploring Monochrome
colour palette
You should have your still life set-up from last week
Find your drawing of your one object from 3
different viewpoints
Enlarge it on the photocopier to A3
Using the blending Techniques choose one colour
and white to create a monochromatic painting of
your line drawing.
You are exploring different hues of One colour to fill
in the shapes created by your line drawing.
Quick Q’s
What kinds of colours can we find in Analytical
Cubism?
What is the colour palette we have been
exploring called?
Whos work did you prefer?
EXAMPLE IMAGE OF
ANALYTICAL
CUBISM
WHAT IS ANALYTICAL
CUBISM?
HOW DO WE
RECOGNISE IT?
EXAMPLE IMAGE OF
SYNTHETIC CUBISM
WHAT IS SYNTHETIC
CUBISM?
HOW DO WE
RECOGNISE IT?
CUBISM
ARTIST IMAGE 3
BRAQUE
OR
PICASSO
RESEARCH
COLLECTED
ABOUT THE ABOVE
IMAGE AND ARTIST.
HOW WERE THEY
INVOLVED
IN CUBISM
YOUR STUDY OR COPY
OF A SECTION OF IMAGE
3
ANNOTATION ABOUT
YOUR STUDY/COPY
WHAT YOU DID
HOW?
WHY?
WHAT MEDIA?
WHY THAT
SECTION/IMAGE?
WHY THAT ARTIST?
WHAT HAVE YOUR
LEARNT?
Synthetic Cubism
What is Synthetic Cubism????
Grew out of analytical cubism
Real pieces of paper, scores of music replaced
drawn musical notation.
Fragments of newspaper, playing cards, cigarette packs,
and advertisements that were either real or painted
were added to paintings.
Artist such as Picasso and Braque began to
add found objects and textures into their paintings that
surrounded them in their everyday environments
They were bringing their real life objects and their paintings together
They were inventing……COLLAGE
Or as they called it PAPIER COLLE
(French: pasted paper)
Task 1
Using the papers provided I would like you to explore
Ripping and Layering strips and pieces together
1st Ground: Brown Paper
2nd ground: Newspaper
3rd Ground: Mixture of the both
Fruit Dish 1913
Georges Braque
Verre, violin and papier musique 1913
These paintings are all tonal
Studies or monochromatic
Studies with paper added to
emphasise the flat areas.
This paper is also with the
exception of certain areas the
boldest area of colour, and add
texture to the surface of the
paintings.
Woman with guitar 1913
Task 2
Using Charcoal and chalk you are going to create small
studies of a section of one of Braque’s paintings.
You will draw these studies on top of the collaged grounds
and surfaces you have already pre-made
Things to look out for…
Small changes in tone- where dark turns to light
or light turn to dark
What Direction are the paint strokes going?
What kinds of marks are you seeing?
How can you copy those using the charcoal and chalk?
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
TIONAL INK WASH AND
GUASCHE
Activity One:
Enlarge your homework on the photocopier to A3
Cut out your drawings and pick one view where the
object is really clear.
Cut this view into strips or segments
Remember: Cubists used geometric shapes, and angular
lines and you need to show this in your cuts!!
Now do the same with the other two viewpoints
Piece them together to make a cubist composition of your object
Top Tip: You don’t have to use ALL your pieces
You can do this activity more than once if you have time!!!
Activity TWO:
Once you have your cubist composition stick it down using glue
Can you see where your segments overlap?
Using a pencil and a ruler, you need to draw the edges of your
segments in. Like the cubists you can also extend some of the
Lines so the begin to cut other bits in half!
This makes your geometric cuts and angles more apparent
See Miss O’s example!!!
Get tracing paper and a biro and trace your new
Object. You need to include the outline, extended lines,
edges and any important details of your object.
Photocopy and enlarge your
three viewpoint drawings
You need to
get to this
stage where
you have
traced your
cubist
composition
Cut up your
photocopies
using
angular
straight cuts
Stick them down. Think about
overlapping and matching up
detail and lines. But also making it
look angular and cubist
Lesson Objectives
•Develop our existing 2D skills
By exploring different Media to create small cubist images
•Develop our knowledge of Cubist techniques to create a
cubist still-life
By focusing our studies on formal elements in Cubist work such as colour and texture
Your cubist Object
On one piece of A3 we need to create small studies (in preparation for postcards) of
sections of the traced cubist object in different media. Choose 3 sections of your
object and trace them spaced out onto A3. Label them Study1,Study2, Study3.
STUDY 1 = Accurate Tonal Study of that section
STUDY 2 = Monochromatic Study of that section using
analytical cubism colours.
Blues
Browns
Yellows
Greens
STUDY 3 = Any medium of your choice. Full colour or Tonal
Top Tip: We are studying Cubist style so remember the marks and
colours they made, and how they blended their colours together.
Homework
Find or take an Image of a Still Life object.
Fragment it into a cubist composition by cutting it into
strips and bits and layering them down on a page.
Stick them down.
Then create a Monochrome Study from it
(different shades of one colour)
Lesson Aims
•To broaden our knowledge of Cubist Art
•To be able to identify Artists who created work in a cubist style
We are going to research the cubist Artist
Juan Gris
PassBe able to identify influences of different art movements,
use contextual research to support your development ideas
and present relevant information about the work studied
Merit
Complete all of the Pass Criteria and
Be able to talk about the different influences and art movements,
Make connections between your work and the art movement studied
Present all work clearly.
Distinction
Complete all pass and merit criteria and,
be able to analyse works of art and design movements,
make creative links from your work to the work you have researched and studied,
Present imaginative, and individual insights about the work you studied.
Artist Study
Juan Gris
Work in pairs or 3’s and share 1 computer
You have 20 minutes to find and print out,
At least 3 small images and of his cubist work
including titles and Dates
The following information:
Name, Born-Died,
Where did he live?
What kind of art did he make?
What kinds of subjects did he paint?
Who was his artist friends?
How is his work described?
How did he make his work?
What can we find out…
Juan Gris
Violin and
Checkerboard
1913 Oil on Canvas
What is the Subject?
Why do you think he has chosen this
subject?
What objects can you see?
What words would you use to describe
the painting?
Which type of cubism do you think this
fits in? Why do you think this?
How would you describe the colours he
has used?
Why do you think he has used these
colours?
What other things do you notice about
this image?
What is the Subject?
Why do you think he has chosen this subject?
What objects can you see?
Do you think the artist had a theme for the painting?
What words would you use to describe the painting?
Which type of cubism do you think this fits in? Why do you think this?
How would you describe the colours he has used?
Why do you think he has used these colours?
What other things do you notice about this image?
Juan Gris
born…..- Died…….
Image No.1
Image No.2
Our Research
Where did he live?
What kind of art did he make?
What kinds of subjects did he paint?
Who was his artist friends?
How is his work described?
How did he make his work?
Title
Date
Media
What this painting is?
Why did you choose it?
What this painting is?
Why did you choose it?
All About image 3 - Use the Question Sheet!
Image No.3
What is the Subject?
Why do you think he has chosen this subject?
What objects can you see?
Do you think the artist had a theme for the painting?
What words would you use to describe the painting?
Which type of cubism do you think this fits in? Why do you think this?
How would you describe the colours he has used?
Why do you think he has used these colours?
What other things do you notice about this image?
(Miss will give you)
Title
Date
Media
Your opinion
What do you like about this painting?
Do you like the work of Juan Gris? why?
What do you think he does really well as an artist?
What have you learnt from his work?
You have 2 minutes to write down as many types of
objects
as you can think of that can be put into these categories;
Music
Cosmetics
Food
Sport
Entertainment
Over 1/2 Term
Next term we will be starting your own cubist style
final piece
Your designs will be based on ONE of these themes;
FOOD
MUSIC
SPORT
COSMETICS
ENTERTAINMENT
Think about which theme you would like to study
For your lesson after 1/2 term bring with you 3 objects that
link to your chosen theme.