Erika Langmuir, A Closer Look: Still Life

This short book, one of a series produced by the National Gallery, is a very helpful introduction to the genre of still life painting. The author explains its beginnings in the Greek xenia (offerings to guests), now known only from description, and Roman wall paintings, like those preserved at Herculaneum and Pompeii. In the medieval and Renaissance period the naturalistic depiction of flowers and objects was justified by their inclusion in narrative paintings, though there are fascinating instances of stand-alones like Gaddi's painting of a cupboard with eucharistic objects in Santa Croce, Florence. The genre really comes into its own around 1600. In just a few pages we get a clear idea of the essential elements of the Dutch still life and the Spanish bodegón, and the subgenres of flower painting and breakast piece. There is an interesting comparison of still life elements in paintings by Caravaggio and Velazquez, in which the author is not shy of expressing an opinion (avoiding the flat even-handedness that can mar expository writing). Other questions are contemplated: how are we to understand the symbolism of a still life, obvious in the case of a vanitas but in other cases more obscure to the modern viewer? What internal dramas are evoked in these mesmerising compositions? I like the thought that often the still life bypasses thought and speaks directly to our sensuous response to the world. The great Chardin is touched on - I would have liked more on him, remembering the wonderful RA exhibition - and there are close engagements with works by Cezanne and Picasso. Because the book is centred on the NG collection, it does not take us further into the twentieth century or into other media like photography and video. I am reading Charles Sterling's book on Still Life, which is superb but weighty with knowledge and lists of painters I have never heard of. This book provided a useful summary of the key episodes of the story. Erika Langmuir, former Head of Education at the NG, has a gift for clear yet passionate writing, and the series as a whole (rebranded as A Closer Look) is beautifully produced.