Still Life (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas about this Work of Art
- Still life paintings generally depict an arrangement of nonliving objects (such as fruit and flowers) with objects that contrast with them in texture (like bowls and glassware). This still life features books, sheet music, a flute, a quill and inkpot, a small blue vase, and an oil lamp.
- William Michael Harnett was best known for painting groups of objects in dark tones and with precise detail. Most of his paintings include objects related to writing, reading, drinking, smoking, hunting and/or music.
- Harnett’s realistic style is an example of trompe l’oeil painting. Trompe l’oeil means “trick the eye” in French. Trompe l’oeil paintings create the illusion of real objects.
- Music was a theme in Harnett’s work. Many of his paintings include sheet music and instruments.
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This jewel-like picture offers the pleasure of contemplative looking. Here we intrude upon the world of a cultivated and unkempt eccentric. We recognize a volume of Dante’s The Divine Comedy and Cervantes’s Don Quixote among the pile of old books. Both works address human and spiritual love.
The sheet music includes an Easter hymn from a prayer book and a love aria from an opera. Further allusion to music and literature is made by the presence of a flute and an ink pot and quill. Taken together, the elements of the composition celebrate the enduring power of love and art.
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- Read an article about Harnett.
- View a similar still life painting by this artist.
- View another still life by this artist.
- Read an article about the history of the Munich Kunstverein.
Resources for Students
- View more paintings by Harnett.
- Watch a video about the trompe l’oeil technique and learn how to use it in a drawing.
- Watch a time lapse video of the creation of a trompe l’oeil window.
Images
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Still Life