Brushes and paint on the desk in his studio, cardboard with unfinished sketch, antique sculptures cast takes us into the atmosphere of working painter. A bouquet of flowers next to the field nedopitoy cup of tea and an open book can look into the spiritual world of man.

It embodied the artist on canvas or paper, is called a still life.

In literally the last word means "dead nature", that is something stones. In other words, we are talking about the image of objects associated with a person in his daily life, whether they are things made by him or what he takes from nature.

In the still life is related to the person the world. It expands the understanding of beauty, which is characteristic of the artist as a man of his time.
As a certain type or genre of painting still life knows the history of art to flourish. Widely known, for example, the XVII century Dutch still life. No less striking for the genre was in European painting during the last and the beginning of this century. In the history of Russian art still life appears in the XVIII century. Usually easel still lives at that time the aim is illyuzionisticheski accurate picture of the subject, giving viewers a kind of joy of recognizing the familiar things. Decorative still life, placed somewhere on the front doors of the palace enfilade, made from flowers and fruits, in contrast, were designed to create the overall impression of something elegant, festive.
Very interesting still life, performed in 20 - 40-ies of the XIX century. An example is the lovely small watercolors and gouaches FP Tolstoy. With great warmth, with a jeweler's care shown to them cut flowers in clear glass, surrounded by birds, and butterflies fly, with the indispensable dew drops somewhere in the petals, made to produce an optical illusion of reality. No less typical of the period and paintings Igor V. Hrutskogo with lush bouquets of garden flowers, with baskets of grapes and a transparent yellow peaches. They executed extremely well and almost always, as the work of Tolstoy, decorated with an amusing illyuzionisticheskoy detail. However, work Hrutskogo Tolstoy and miniatures, with all their artistic charm still have very limited significance for the development of our art.
In the works of Russian realist middle and second half of XIX century, still life was a relatively rare phenomenon. Only at the turn of the past and present century, he grew up in the artistic phenomenon of global importance.
Special interest in still life painting in the Russian starts to waken in the 80's of last century. One of the main places of work here belongs to I. Levitan (1860-1900). They are not big in size, modest in design and, as a rule, are bouquets of field, or any ordinary garden flowers. In the "forget-and-jump" (1889, Tretyakov Gallery) excellently transferred fragile pale yellow night and air fialok small blue nezabudok perfectly suit with a simple village krinkoy. Very good "Dandelions" (Chuvashskaya art gallery), still lives near the first of his motives. They kept in a warm greenish-brown color gamut, in which both organically sound and simple irrigation clay dairy krinki and yellow flower heads. Similar in nature and is "White lilac from Omsk Museum of Fine Arts.
The work of Levitan, in fact, more traditional: bouquets taken in isolation from the surrounding space of the room, on a neutral background. The challenge here is clear and simple: perhaps more persuasively convey the unique beauty of the chosen character. However, in the same years in the works of K. Korovin (1861 - 1939) and Valentin Serov (1865-1911) can feel the new developments.
The nature of the new trends can be defined as a desire to link the still-life painters - and the picturesque scenes and - with the environment. "Dead nature" rule in the plein air, ie air, under the open sky, associated with the landscape or, conversely, organically connected with the interior room. In the still lifes want to see the reflection of a particular attitude of people, their way of life, and finally - his mood.
One of the earliest paintings Korovina perfectly illustrates this new trend. This is an image of friendly societies in the country artist VD Polenov - "For the tea-table (1888, Museum-Estate VD Polenov). The film is written almost in open air - on the terrace of a country house. For the table sits the wife of the artist, talk peacefully beside her sister and the sister of the Polenov - both young and talented artist. The aim of the painter was to convey the feeling of warm summer days, the charm of a relaxed, friendly conversations. Refreshing the freshness coming from the sunny green of young people, to a large extent created and still-life - that show red-ripe berries in white plate, with fresh white tablecloths, milk, preserver in high transparent glass. The internal, emotional unity, which is all the images in the painting is achieved first and foremost a decision of the picturesque canvases. And the figures of people, space and nature, and of laying the table covers - all written with a view of the svetovozdushnoy environment that surrounds them. Garden herbs permeated the sun casts a greenish light on the faces of people. Green and gold highlights scintillating samovar in the center of the table. Gently glass glasses gleam reflecting and at the same time allowing the light. Light cold shadows are on the tablecloths, the white, well otglazhennoy blouse young women, in turn, the light reflected from blouses, from tablecloths, even the few vysvetlyaet light shade, which is in the picture.
In a canvas Serov Girl with peaches (1887, Tretyakov Gallery) fruit in the foreground of the painting only accessory that is something that complements the image created here. The attention of the artist looking primarily at the young Vladimir Mamontov. However, the image of peaches is an independent artistic task. Serov purely pictorial means of determines their place in the space of the picture. He "finds" its own yellow fruit, comparing them with a white tablecloth, with a yellow-green leaf maple, with a greenish light, effuse through the window from the garden. It distinguishes between green, lemon-yellow and golden-yellow colors of their rocky sides unevenly lit. The feeling of velvet texture peaches achieved comparing them with a smooth canvas tablecloths and polished surface of silver fruit knife, which play a bright glare of light. Peaches, so careful consideration of the artist, served as a key to the construction of a color picture of her conception. It is this diffuse daylight of summer days, forming the "Peaches is the determinant for all the emotional and pictorial structure picture, stressing the freshness of child models. It opens a new page in the history of Russian realistic painting.
In these works Korovin and Serov began a further development of still life. The analytical nature of the latter was fundamentally different from what is essentially antihudozhestvennoy products which infest bourgeois salons of the time. Chief still lives in the cabin was naturalistic notion of similarity between the image of the subject. Especially here etyudnaya valued the ease of manners, or, conversely, jewelry finish painting the surface. In all cases, external imperatives were beautiful songs, "luxury" overall impression. The perfect embodiment of these principles can serve as a huge canvas masterfully executed K. Makovsky (1839-1915) "In the workshop of the artist" (1881, Tretyakov Gallery). The film strikes a truly "natyurmortnym" pile of rich fabrics, exotic fruits, antique rarities. Little zolotovolosy puppet-boy, a beautiful and huge pedigreed dog seem simple exhibits that bourgeois exhibition of luxury goods.
It is no coincidence that the new phase in the development of still life as the genre was launched in this essay with a portrait of Serov and Korovin. The desire of artists to expand the boundaries of still-life, are closely linked with the man with the world leading in many cases to the organic merging of the genre with portraits, landscapes, interiors and home painting. The image "dead nature" becomes a more volumes to become an active tool in the way of disclosure. This is true not only for the initial stages, but for the interest period, the development of still life.

A "first swallow" was very popular painting VD Polenov (1844-1927) "Patient" (1886, Tretyakov Gallery).

Room and prostrate figure on the bed the patient immersed in deep shadow. The essence of place is revealed in the illuminated compact group of objects located on the table by the bed. This still life is extremely informative. Bright lamp with green shade - the only source of light in the room, the only bright spot of color in a composition painting. Poluobgorely nadvinut dense shade on the glass right to light is not disturbing the patients. His tear rays from dark feverishly collapse pillows and sheets, a glass of water, glass carafe, boxes and bubbles with medications, some sheets of paper (obviously, medical). On the left, in blue and red covers probably domestic lechebniki, all-in bookmarks, battered from constant use. It is also possible that these albums or books that entertained the patients. In any case, the viewer, it is clear that all life is concentrated around the table, these objects, as though imbued with the drama of the events depicted. Still-Life to play an active role in creating a mood of the painting.
No less typical still-life, nominated to the fore in the famous painting K. Makovsky "Alekseich (Tretyakov Gallery). Figure of person has drawn him away from the viewer. The image of a modest, complacently fully disclosed to the old man in the quiet joy that fills his lonely tea handsel peace. Boiling samovar comfortable with burners attached to the kettle, soft Sitnov crust of bread, raspberry jam in a glass, carefully tied the bank, carefully covered with neatly folded cloth box with tea and sugar - in all this a sense of warmth and serenity that is so expensive unpretentiousness man.
In later years, a curious example of active intrusion of still-life genre painting gives creativity BM Kustodiev (1878-1927). Suffice it to recall its lushly bills of sale, to remove in the atlas and cashmere, is slowly moving past the commercial series. Right and left them in the bast boxes on the counters and just lie on the surface of Mount Astrakhan watermelons, red apples. In the windows of shops selling "colonial goods", blue grapes, but the doors are decorated with variegated signs, hyperbolically depicting the abundance of every earthly fruit.