The still life painting genre has allowed artists to have the ability to send extra messaged and have been used for many years, although has lost the meanings to most art lovers today, there is a long history behind the still life genre and has many symbolic aspects to the genre.
Flowers- have been included as a still life project. Different flowers hold different meanings. They can symbolize innocence, the four seasons, or religious symbols. The rose for instance, stands for love, the lily for purity, and the sunflower for devotion.
Birds- represent the resurrection of the soul after death.
Bees- also the butterfly, are symbols of hope, and because they are rather delicate, are a reminder to the fragility of life.
Mice- being a very fertile animal, became a symbol of lechery and destruction.
Ivy- as an evergreen symbolizes eternal life.
Peach- symbolizes truth and salvation, and is used as a replacement to the maligned apple.
Feathers- symbolize the virtues of hope, faith, and charity (in religious work), and they represent freedom (by enabling flight) and the heavens.
Shells- in a religious work, represent pilgrimages,or saints. The clam symbolizes the Virgin Mary. In contemporary works, they symbolize sensuality and the pleasures of the flesh.
Skulls or Bones- when in the painting, symbolizes mortality. The skull also represents inner contemplation, and eternity.
Books- learning or of transmitting knowledge.
The Lute- death or discord.
Candles- it can indicate the passing of time, faith in God (when its burning). When extinguished, it means death, or the loss of virginity, and the corruption of matter. It can also symbolize light in the darkness of a lovely individual, or the light of
Christ, purification or cleansing.
The Clock- the passing of time.
Mirror- stands for truth or vanity. By showing an image of a subject hat reflect what others see. This self awareness allows fruitful introspection and the viewers attempt to find the truth, or lead to simple vanity.
Apple- it can signify love, knowledge, wisdom, joy and death. In religious works, it usually means temptation and original sin. The apple is also associated with a woman’s anatomy, breasts in particular, and then the core of the halved apple representing her sexuality or reproductive parts.
Sword- a common item used in earlier works but not as much in contemporary works. It symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength and courage.
Cats- in the Medieval times the cat represented lust and prostitutes, which is where the term ‘cat house’ comes from. But in more modern work it is included to help provide a peaceful and enjoyable companion with which they are depicted. For centuries cats are
considered mysterious, beautiful and exotic.
Flowers- have been included as a still life project. Different flowers hold different meanings. They can symbolize innocence, the four seasons, or religious symbols. The rose for instance, stands for love, the lily for purity, and the sunflower for devotion.
Birds- represent the resurrection of the soul after death.
Bees- also the butterfly, are symbols of hope, and because they are rather delicate, are a reminder to the fragility of life.
Mice- being a very fertile animal, became a symbol of lechery and destruction.
Ivy- as an evergreen symbolizes eternal life.
Peach- symbolizes truth and salvation, and is used as a replacement to the maligned apple.
Feathers- symbolize the virtues of hope, faith, and charity (in religious work), and they represent freedom (by enabling flight) and the heavens.
Shells- in a religious work, represent pilgrimages,or saints. The clam symbolizes the Virgin Mary. In contemporary works, they symbolize sensuality and the pleasures of the flesh.
Skulls or Bones- when in the painting, symbolizes mortality. The skull also represents inner contemplation, and eternity.
Books- learning or of transmitting knowledge.
The Lute- death or discord.
Candles- it can indicate the passing of time, faith in God (when its burning). When extinguished, it means death, or the loss of virginity, and the corruption of matter. It can also symbolize light in the darkness of a lovely individual, or the light of
Christ, purification or cleansing.
The Clock- the passing of time.
Mirror- stands for truth or vanity. By showing an image of a subject hat reflect what others see. This self awareness allows fruitful introspection and the viewers attempt to find the truth, or lead to simple vanity.
Apple- it can signify love, knowledge, wisdom, joy and death. In religious works, it usually means temptation and original sin. The apple is also associated with a woman’s anatomy, breasts in particular, and then the core of the halved apple representing her sexuality or reproductive parts.
Sword- a common item used in earlier works but not as much in contemporary works. It symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength and courage.
Cats- in the Medieval times the cat represented lust and prostitutes, which is where the term ‘cat house’ comes from. But in more modern work it is included to help provide a peaceful and enjoyable companion with which they are depicted. For centuries cats are
considered mysterious, beautiful and exotic.