Presentation on fine arts on the topic “What the still life tells” (7th grade). Still life in art school The concept of imagery and mood in a thematic still life

Yulia Sukhova

Still life one of the most interesting genres of fine art art. Outwardly plotless, this genre is one of the most philosophical, reflecting the diversity of human connections with the world of things.

WITH still life as a genre of fine art art, children's school students Arts named after. A.I. Plotnova are introduced in detail in class "Conversations about art» And "History of Fine Art" art» . Study the works of Russian and foreign masters still life.

Over 8 years of study at the Children's School Arts named after. A.I. Plotnova The guys do a lot of tasks that can be combined under this theme - « Still life»

At school arts the main focus is on practical work on still lifes- this is the organization of productions, determining the sequence in the work of students, developing the ability to perceive nature, work in various techniques and various artistic materials.

There are several types still lifes:

Educational;

Educational and creative;

Creative;

Plot-thematic.

According to the statement of the educational task, realistic, stylized and decorative ones are distinguished. still lifes.

Training still life(staged) aims to teach the basics of visual literacy, activate cognitive processes and introduce independent creative work. Working on educational still life Students perform from life both in drawing and painting.

Training still life assumes the following educational solutions tasks:

Coordinate objects by size, tone, texture;

Reveal the design features of objects;

Study proportions;

Show the materiality of objects.

Work on still life can take place in the classroom with artificial or natural light, as well as in the open air.


Students are offered a very large number of educational productions from the simplest in the lower grades (geometric bodies) to complex in older (thematic still lifes) .

Educational still lifes also differ in their subject matter.

Plot-thematic still life- combining objects with one theme, plot. For example "Allegorical still lifes» - still lifes with attributes of scientific and artistic pursuits. I symbolize the brevity of worldly pleasures and the benefits of scientific work.



Kitchen still lifes are still lifes with food, dishes and kitchen utensils, breakfasts and lunches.



Floral still life- paintings depicting the beautiful gifts of nature.

Still life in the landscape - this is an image still life against a landscape background. Here the main role is given to still life, and the landscape plays a supporting role.




Still life in the interior involves the arrangement of objects surrounded by a large space where objects still life are in plot relationship with the interior.

Still life in portraits and genre paintings - represents paintings where objects enrich the semantic content of the works, forming space. Things often pose on a par with the heroes, symbolizing class ideals, reflecting norms of behavior, signs of everyday life, and characterizing professional occupations.


Often still life becomes a theme for the composition or is a very important component of the composition.

Decorative still life is not an exact depiction of nature, but a reflection on a given nature: this is the selection and imprinting of the most characteristic, the rejection of everything random, the subordination of the system still life the specific task of the artist. The task of decorative still life consists in identifying the decorative qualities of nature, creating a general impression of elegance.



Much attention is paid to working on " still life - fantasy". Still life, in which real objects can be depicted schematically.

Creative still life It differs from an educational setting in that the student, in the process of drawing, fantasizes, stylizes, and transforms the visible world. The child is not as attached to the exact image still life, objects and their designs.

Still life, as a genre of fine art art, opens up enormous opportunities for teaching children art art.

All photographs presented above are the works of students of the arts and crafts and art departments of the Children's School Arts named after. A.I. Plotnova.

Publications on the topic:

"Wire Art" I found a very interesting technique in art - “Wire Weaving”. This type of art was invented a long time ago, when all decorations.

“I am a teacher at the Children’s Art School”! Music is a powerful source of thought. Without musical education, full mental development is impossible. V. A. Sukhomlinsky Who to be? After.

Still life drawing by preschool children Visual activity is one of the most interesting for preschool children: it deeply excites the child and evokes positive emotions.

The role of Children's Art School in the formation of a creative personality in the modern world The most important social institutions that shape a child’s personality are family, school and social environment. Additional education.

The role of the family in choosing the future profession of a student at the Children's Art School All people at a certain period of time face the need to choose a profession. Parents are often the biggest influence.

Still life is one of the genres of fine art, dedicated to the reproduction of household items, fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc. The task of an artist depicting a still life is to convey the coloristic beauty of the objects surrounding a person, their volumetric and material essence, as well as to express his attitude towards the depicted objects. Drawing a still life is especially useful in educational practice for mastering painting skills, since in it a novice artist comprehends the laws of color harmony and acquires technical mastery of pictorial modeling of form. As an independent genre in art, still life appeared at the turn of the 16th - 17th centuries. in Holland and Flanders and since then has been used by many artists to convey the direct connection of art with the life and everyday life of people. This is the time of artists who glorified themselves in the genre of still life, P. Klas, V. Kheda, A. Beyeren and V. Kalf, Snyders and others.

Still life is the most favorite genre in the art of many contemporary artists. Still lifes are painted in the open air, in the interior, simple and complex settings, traditional and highly modern arranged sets of objects from everyday life.

In a still life painting, artists strive to show the world of things, the beauty of their shapes, colors, proportions, and to capture their attitude towards these things. At the same time, still lifes reflect a person, his interests, cultural level and life itself.

Drawing up a still life requires the ability to depict the shape of various objects using chiaroscuro, perspective, and the laws of color.

The main thing in drawing up a still life is the selection of objects in which its general content and theme are most clearly expressed.

There are several types of still lifes:

  • - plot-thematic;
  • - educational;
  • - educational and creative;
  • - creative.

Still lifes are distinguished:

  • - by color (warm, cold);
  • - by color (close, contrasting);
  • - by illumination (direct lighting, side lighting, against the light);
  • - by location (still life in the interior, in the landscape);
  • - according to the time of performance (short-term - "slap" and long-term - multi-hour performances);
  • - according to the formulation of the educational task (realistic, decorative, etc.).

Still life in a landscape (en plein air) can be of two types: one - composed in accordance with the chosen theme, the other - natural, “random”. It can be either independent or an integral part of a genre painting or landscape. Often a landscape or genre scene itself only complements the still life.

Still life in the interior involves the arrangement of objects surrounded by a large space, where the objects of the still life are in plot subordination with the interior.

Thematic-thematic still life implies the unification of objects by theme, plot. A thematic still life is a complex work of art with which you can tell about the hobbies, views, and worldview of the owner of the objects.

Educational still life. In it, as in a plot-thematic one, it is necessary to coordinate objects in size, tone, color and texture, reveal the design features of objects, study proportions and identify patterns of plasticity of various forms /5, p. 57/. An educational still life is also called academic or, as mentioned above, staged. Educational still life differs from creative still life in its strict goal setting: to give students the basics of visual literacy, to help activate their cognitive abilities and to involve them in independent creative work.

In a decorative still life, the main task is to identify the decorative qualities of nature, to create a general impression of elegance. “A decorative still life is not an exact depiction of nature, but a reflection on a given nature: it is the selection and capture of the most characteristic, the rejection of everything random, the subordination of the structure of the still life to the specific task of the artist.” .

The main principle of solving a decorative still life is the transformation of the spatial depth of the image into a conditional flat space. At the same time, it is possible to use several plans that must be located within a shallow depth. The educational task facing the student in the process of working on a decorative still life is to “identify the characteristic, most expressive quality and strengthen it in its decorative processing; in the decorative solution of a still life, you should try to see the characteristic in it and build the processing on this.”

Decorative still life allows future designers of the architectural environment to develop a sense of color harmony, rhythm, quantitative and qualitative proportionality of color planes depending on their intensity, lightness and texture, and generally activates the creative powers of students.

“Image of the objective world. Expressive possibilities of still life."

The main task of art and painting is to awaken the beautiful in a person, to make him think and feel. The artist’s task is to attract the viewer’s attention, to discern an extraordinary essence in ordinary objects. Still life introduces us to the world surrounding the artist. It gives you the opportunity to look back several centuries and relive, together with the master, his especially favorite motifs. In a still life, the artist tries with limited means to convey the multicolored objects around him and strives to reflect his mood. Along with the everyday genre, still life has long been considered a secondary form. Indeed, much of what is characteristic of works of historical, battle and other genres is inaccessible to still life. However, great masters proved that things can characterize both the social status and lifestyle of their owner.

The art of still life has its own history, its own traditions. As a genre, it originated in Holland. The artists depicted the most ordinary things, but it was beautiful and poetic. The most widespread and popular still life was in Dutch art at the turn of the 16th – 17th centuries.

“Still life” is a French word literally translated as “dead nature”. In Dutch the designation for this genre sounds like stilleven i.e. “quiet life” So STILL LIFE: a genre of fine art showing inanimate objects placed in a real everyday environment and organized into a specific group;

In Russian art, still life appeared in the 17th century along with the establishment of secular painting, reflecting the educational pathos of the era and the desire to truthfully and accurately convey the objective world.

Still life is one of the most famous genres of fine art. It has many functional features: it is used as an educational production, the primary stage of studying nature during the apprenticeship period, it can also become an independent painting, in its own way revealing the eternal theme of art - the theme of human existence. Still life is very popular among many professional painters. It is included as an important element in the training of the future artist. Here the ability to seamlessly combine several objects and understand the difference in their qualities is honed. It is better to start mastering drawing with a still life. You can draw him for as long as you like, carefully studying him from different points, without fear that he will get tired of standing and leave or change position.

So: On the one hand, drawing a still life is quite easyyou can always find several objects and make a composition out of them; with anotherDrawing objects may seem monotonous and boring to students.

How to make work more fun and interesting, but at the same time educational.

The purpose of this work is:

Show the beauty of the surrounding world through still life, diversifying the work on it, using different methods and techniques

Job objectives:

    Systematize students’ knowledge about still life as a genre in fine art

    Master different methods and styles of working on still life

    Foster interest in world culture and art

    Display the characteristics and features of the surrounding reality through still life

    conveying your attitude to the world around you.

The objectives of methodological work are determined by the goal.

The drawing process is a complex complex of mental and practical activities. Visual perception of nature, as a rule, is holistic. When performing a still life drawing, the number of stages is determined by the complexity of the still life setting. The work begins with finding a composition scheme. The selection of subjects is carried out according to the specified topic. For work on a still life to be truly interesting and useful, the still life must be well composed and correct. And this is the beginning of creativity and not as simple as it might seem. Taste and compositional flair are already evident here.

There are rules for staging a still life

    The set of items cannot be random; they must be united by a specific theme.

    If you place objects far from each other, emptiness may enter the composition, if you bring them closer, the still life will turn out to be bulky.

    Identical objects located along the same line will create the impression of monotony.

    A still life should have a compositional center - the object is either the largest, or the brightest, or the most expressive.

    The background plays a significant role in a still life. After all, objects without background support will not have their expressiveness.

Just as a person learns to read and write from the very beginning, in the visual arts one cannot immediately be able to draw correctly. Undoubtedly, there are talented children who feel and can convey the correctness of what they see. But even they should know the rules and laws of drawing. Children receive the necessary concepts of artistic literacy in art lessons. They study the rules, learn to build a drawing step by step, and analyze the work. Just like in other sections, in the “still life” topic there are many patterns and necessary drawing rules.

It is important at the initial stage of work to pay attention to such concepts as

Perspective– a system for displaying the depth of space on a plane.

Perspective of a circle, square, central (one vanishing point) and angular (two).

Chiaroscuro– a method of conveying volume using shadows and light.

Light, shadow (incident and own), penumbra, highlight, reflex.

Proportions- the relationship of parts to each other or to the whole. Sighting method, axis of symmetry.

There are several types of still lifes: 1. plot-thematic; 2 training; 3. educational and creative; 4. creative.

Still lifes are distinguished: by color (warm, cold); by color (close, contrasting); by illumination (direct lighting, side lighting, against light); by location (still life in the interior, in the landscape); by performance time (short-term – “slap” and long-term – multi-hour performances); by setting the educational task (realistic, decorative, etc.).

Still life is performed in painting, graphics, and is also found in sculpture. Stone reliefs from fruits, leaves and other decorative elements were used in ancient times.

In order for the child to have the opportunity to focus on the main thing, objects with a large number of small details should not be included in the first productions: the background should be simple.

Children are already familiar with many concepts by the 6th grade, but at this stage they are considered in the context of a specific topic - the topic of still life. It is necessary to show students the importance of knowledge and understanding of all these concepts, to make them realize that without them there is no correct drawing that will captivate the viewer.

Studying all these rules and laws of drawing can be considered preparatory work. This also includes studying the history of still life. This is important - the child must know and understand the entire integrity of this genre. After students have studied the rules and laws and understood a certain meaning of the work, they should try their hand at depicting objects. The children hone their skills on individual household items, applying the learned rules in practice. It is necessary to achieve automation in step-by-step work. Children must know where to start drawing.

Still life is, first of all, objects that are organized thematically, connected by semantic content and carry a certain idea. Based on drawing individual objects, the student learns to correctly convey the shape of an object, observe perspective and proportions; later, all skills will be useful in drawing a still life.

Next comes the search for a composition scheme. Guys don’t always understand how to create a composition correctly. To teach them to do this, words alone are not enough. It takes practice. We use different techniques and types of work.

Let's see what geometric figure the production can fit into. We consider several settings inscribed in one figure, and one statement, rearranging objects, inscribed in different figures

We use computer technology. Drawing takes a long time; you can use the “Insert Shapes” operation. Children enjoy creating images, and along the way they hone their computer skills.

Magnetic constructor: the teacher makes flat blanks with magnets in advance. Children practice drawing still lifes by placing magnetic figures on the board.

One of the working methods is photography. The students enjoy taking photographs. Before this, a composition is created from the proposed items. Then photographing, output to a computer, viewing, analysis. By comparing and discussing, it is easy to find the right composition solution. Work is progressing ahead of schedule (the study of photography is in the 9th grade curriculum). This technique not only diversifies the work, it is remembered by children and helps them see the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed productions. If you save images, you can view them repeatedly.

Students enjoy working on still life. Everyone has their own style, the works may not be similar to each other, the more interesting and informative this work is. We usually organize exhibitions of works by students from different years.

To diversify the work on still life, I suggest using techniques that will be interesting to the children.

Creating a still life using the appliqué technique. Children learn to arrange objects on the entire plane of the sheet so that it is expressive and interesting. You need to figure out how to place the objects on the sheet, take colored paper, scissors and glue. Choose a beautiful paper color and determine what the background will be. We cut out several colored silhouettes of simple household items (a jug or vase, a mug, a bowl or plate, a round dish or a kitchen board), as well as silhouettes of several fruits. And then make a still life out of them.

No less interesting is the type of collage work. Images of objects are laid out from pieces of colored paper of different colors. When creating images, students not only observe the shape of objects, they try to choose the right tone and show light and shade. The work itself is exciting and unusual.

The “Still Life Storyteller” technique helps introduce children to the history of the genre. The teacher brings objects for production and invites students to compose a composition. Children take an object, but before putting it down, read historical information related to the still life genre.

The image of a decorative still life solves several problems. Children create two seemingly identical still lifes, but at the same time they design them differently. They learn to be designers. Strong students can make two drawings, weak students can make at least one. In addition, it is simply interesting for children, because... does not keep them within certain limits, but allows them to fantasize.

We strive to teach a child not only drawing, it is necessary that he be able to see and hear the world around him, be extremely attentive, and be able to see the unusual in ordinary things. And most importantly, the child must be able to imagine and transfer it to a piece of paper. An exercise such as artistic dictation helps, where students listen to a description of a picture, write down key words, then draw according to the idea. All the guys get their own image, but it is united by one plot. This exercise traces interdisciplinary connections, the development of imagination and perception of the world through one’s point of view.

Quizzes, polls, and tests play an important role in teaching the art of still life. Various options are possible, using computer technology. There is live communication, discussion of answers, search for the right solution. Children themselves love to come up with different tasks, make presentations, and arrange quizzes.

Work on a still life should be systematic. The success of the work depends on a number of conditions that generally create this system. Of course, children should want to draw, know the rules and laws, and perform training exercises. Using different types of work allows you to diversify still life drawing. Of course, the teacher’s help and constant monitoring are needed.

So, to summarize, it should be noted that working on a still life has been and remains one of the most important stages in teaching students to draw. It shouldn’t be annoying and boring, so in my development I tried to show how to diversify it, make it more interesting and exciting. The kids really like these types of work and exercises; the lesson turns out to be rich, but not monotonous. Of course, much attention is paid to the rules for staging and performing a still life, compositional solutions and rules of perspective, as well as the sequence of work. But such a variety of works and styles does not interfere with realistic still life, but on the contrary helps all students, even very weak ones, to do their work correctly.

Still life is the first genre of painting with which, as studies by teachers and psychologists show, it is necessary to introduce younger schoolchildren. It not only evokes the greatest emotional response in children from the age of 3-4, associations with their own life experience, but also attracts children’s attention to the means of expressiveness of painting, helps them look more closely at the beauty of the depicted objects and admire them.

Art awakens emotional and creative beginnings in children of primary school age. With the help of painting, younger schoolchildren are taught to understand the harmony of nature. When we look at a number of still lifes by different artists, we see how diverse they are in content, in means of expression and in the individual creative style of each artist. Art historians do not divide still lifes by type, but for pedagogical work with children this seems important to us. A single-species still life depicts objects of one specific type: only vegetables, only fruits, only berries, mushrooms, flowers; food or household items are possible, for example: P. Konchalovsky “Peaches”; I. Repin “Apples and Leaves”; I. Levitan “Lilac”; V. Stozharov “Bread. Kvass"; P. Konchalovsky “Dry paints” and others. If the picture presents dissimilar objects (vegetables and fruits, flowers and fruits, dishes and vegetables, etc.), we conditionally define such a still life as mixed in content, for example: I. Khrutsky “Flowers and Fruits”; I. Mikhailov “Vegetables and fruits”; K. Petrov-Vodkin “Glass and Lemon.” Plot still lifes include still lifes depicting living creatures: birds, animals, humans - or still lifes including a landscape, for example: F. Tolstoy “Bouquet of Flowers, Butterfly and Bird”; I. Serebryakov “At Breakfast”; P. Krylov “Flowers on the Window” and others.

In elementary grades, children should be shown a variety of still lifes. In addition to single-order and mixed still lifes, we offer children still lifes of a plot nature, as well as those written in a generalized realistic, detailed and decorative manner, in warm, cold and contrasting colors, lyrical, solemn and others. Still lifes are selected with a variety of compositions.

In the selection of works by form, the principle of diversity in the means of expression and manner of execution used by the artist is taken into account. For viewing with children, paintings are selected in which artistic images are arranged in a circle, a triangle, asymmetrically, symmetrically, in the center, statically, dynamically. They also take into account the principle of concentricity, the essence of which is to return to previously perceived pictures, but at a higher level of cognition. The same picture is repeatedly offered for viewing by children during the school year. But the children’s attention is directed to different goals: to highlight individual images, name colors, determine the mood, analyze the logical connections of the picture, establish the relationship between the content and means of expression.

Works of painting and still lifes should realistically reflect phenomena of social life and nature familiar to children. The painting must clearly express the artist's idea and intention. When selecting still lifes for viewing, it is necessary to clearly understand what the picture is about, what main idea the artist expressed, why he created this work, how he conveyed the content (what artistic means he used). The theme of the still life should be close to the child’s social experience and life impressions. When selecting still lifes for presentation to younger schoolchildren, they take into account the individual creative vision of reality in similar themes of still lifes. Younger schoolchildren are introduced to still lifes created by different artists on the same theme. By perceiving these still lifes, children acquire the ability to compare different manners of execution of the same phenomenon by different artists, and to highlight their attitude to what is depicted.

Pedagogical work to familiarize children with art requires the creation of material conditions and a special creative, joyful atmosphere, spiritual contact between adults and children. In introducing younger schoolchildren to painting, in particular, to still life, explanations, comparisons, the technique of emphasizing details, the method of evoking adequate emotions, the tactile-sensory method, the method of reviving children's emotions with the help of literary and song images, the technique of “entering the picture” are widely used. , method of musical accompaniment, gaming techniques. The unity of techniques and methods used in working with children in the classroom ensures the formation in younger schoolchildren of a sustainable interest in art, depth, vividness of impressions, and the emotionality of their relationship to the content of painting. “A child by nature is an inquisitive researcher, a discoverer of the world. So let a wonderful world open up before him in living colors, bright and vibrant sounds - in a fairy tale, a game, in his own creativity, in beauty,” said V.N. Sukhomlinsky.

Stages of working on a still life

First, you need to consider the still life from different points of view and choose the most successful one, paying attention to the lighting effects, that is, from which point of view the shapes of objects look more interesting. They usually look more interesting and expressive when lit from the side. It is not recommended to sit against the light.

You should think about what paper format to choose and how best to arrange the still life on a sheet - vertically or horizontally. For example, if you need to include a corner of a table in the composition, then it is better to place a sheet of paper vertically. .

You should always start your drawing with the compositional placement of the image. It is very important to arrange the entire group of objects so that the sheet of paper is filled evenly. To do this, we mentally combine the entire group of objects into one whole and think about its placement in accordance with the format of the sheet of paper.

The teacher should explain to the students that more space should be left on top than below - then the viewer will get the impression that the objects are standing firmly on the plane. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the depicted objects do not rest against the edges of the sheet of paper and, conversely, that there is not a lot of empty space left.

The compositional problem is not always easy to solve. Sometimes a student has to spend a lot of time and effort to achieve success. And if the production is very complex, then you cannot do without the help of a teacher. This is explained by the fact that in addition to placing the image on a sheet of paper, the student also needs to find the compositional center on the picture plane.

In most cases, the visual center does not coincide with the compositional center, depending on the location of the main subject around which the others are grouped. After all, the spatial position of objects relative to each other in the image also depends on the choice of point of view, which certainly affects the layout of the still life in the intended format.

In order for educational work to proceed successfully, the teacher needs to take all this into account in advance and provide timely assistance to students. On the chalkboard, the teacher must demonstrate the sequence of linear construction of a still life drawing, paying special attention to determining the compositional arrangement of the entire group of still life objects on a sheet of paper. The teacher should also show the correct and incorrect layout of the drawing on the sheet.

The teacher then erases the drawings from the chalkboard and the students get to work.

First, lightly touching the paper with a pencil, we outline the general nature of the shape of objects, their proportions, as well as their location in space. Students use short line segments to limit the general spatial arrangement of the entire group of still life objects.

Those students who are unable to determine in a drawing the general composition of a group of still life objects can be allowed to draw each object separately, starting, however, with an approximate estimate of the size of each of them. Next, you need to clarify the size of each item separately.

We construct the shape of objects in the same way as in tasks for drawing individual objects. We outline the surfaces of each object, both visible and invisible. Thus, the figure looks like an image of wire models.

So, in the middle of the intended outline of an object (for example, a teapot), an axial vertical line is drawn, on which the height is specified, and horizontal segments are drawn through the points that determine its height. They determine the width of the neck and bottom of the teapot. We consider the proportions of the main part of the teapot - the vessel and draw the bottom and neck. Using thin lines we outline the spout, lid, and handle of the kettle. We check again and immediately clarify the proportions of both the entire shape of the teapot and the main parts.

You need to work on the image of an apple in the same way. You should not immediately draw and clarify the outline of objects; the main thing is to determine the size and proportions of each item (height, width, depth).

When identifying the constructive basis of the shape of objects, it is necessary to carefully check the perspective. Particular attention should be paid to the perspective image of the bases of objects. In a drawing, the mark of one object should not be allowed to “step on” the mark of another, in other words, the student must clearly understand which object is in the foreground and which is in the background. Beginning draftsmen usually don’t pay attention to this, and they don’t get the space between objects in their drawing. Then they begin to introduce tone into the drawing, hoping that the defect can be corrected in this way, but this does not give the desired results.

The method of linear constructive image construction helps solve this problem. It is important for the student to clearly imagine the location of objects (marks) on the plane of the table, the distance between them. Then he must imagine this plane with traces, depicted in perspective. .

Separately, it is necessary to say about the image of the drapery, which descends from above and covers the object plane. When depicting drapery, we first determine the horizontal and vertical planes, and only then proceed to drawing the folds. The fabric, light in tone and thin in its structure and material, forms folds on the vertical plane that are expressive in plastic and light-and-shade modeling. On the object plane, the folds of the drapery are slightly outlined. When constructing volumetric folds, you can use the method of generalizing the shape (cutting). The student must extremely generalize the complex shape of the folds to rectilinear geometric shapes. This method will help you understand the shape of the folds and correctly solve the tone problems of the drapery pattern.

Then we draw in more detail all the objects of the still life, removing the construction lines.

In the process of learning to draw from life, students must learn to see and understand the relationship between the design of an object and the phenomena of chiaroscuro, and master the means of chiaroscuro drawing. Without knowing the laws of light distribution on the shape of an object, they will passively copy light and dark spots from nature, but will not achieve convincingness and verisimilitude of the image.

During the learning process, the teacher should dwell in more detail on the theory of light and shade and tone in drawing.

When starting to identify the volume of objects, first of all you need to determine the lightest and darkest place in the still life. Having established these two poles, you should pay attention to the penumbra. To do this, we carefully trace the direction of the light rays and determine which plane of the object the light rays fall directly on, that is, where there will be light, and which plane they do not fall on at all, that is, where there will be a shadow. Then we outline the shadows falling from each object.

First, lightly touching the paper with a pencil, we draw shadow places on each object in tone: on a teapot, an apple, drapery. This will help you see the mass of each item more clearly, and therefore once again check the proportions and general condition of the drawing.

Then we lay out the penumbra, enhancing the tone in shady places and, finally, the shadows falling from objects. It is this procedure for revealing the volume of objects in tone that is considered mandatory by all artists.

When the general drawing of the still life is outlined correctly, you can increase the pressure of the pencil on the paper and set the tone, starting to draw each object in detail.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher must organize the repetition and consolidation of theoretical material in fine arts.

When drawing a detailed form, you must carefully observe all the shades and transitions of light and shade, all the details of the form. But when working on a part, we must not forget to compare it with the one next to it. P.P. Chistyakov recommended: “You shouldn’t work on a part for a long time, since the acuity of perception disappears; it’s better to move on to another, nearby part. When you go back to the work you did at the beginning, it’s easy to see the shortcomings. So, throughout the entire work, moving from one place to another, keep the whole figure in your eye, do not immediately strive for the general, but delve into the details, do not be afraid of the initial diversity, it is not so difficult to generalize it, there would be something to generalize.”

When working out the forms of still life objects, serious analytical work must be done. It is necessary to carefully draw every detail of the object, identify its structure, convey the characteristic features of the material, trace how the component elements are linked with each other and with the overall shape, for example, a handle, the spout of a teapot, the texture and shape of an apple, how the highlights on different objects differ from each other.

We carefully draw the shadows falling from the details - the shadow of a teapot, an apple. Such elaboration of the form will help make the drawing convincing and expressive.

Having completed the drawing, students, under the guidance of the teacher, carefully analyze the tonal relationships of the still life objects, determining the general tone of the teapot, apple, drapery, various shades of tone in the light, in the shadow, in the penumbra: in the foreground and background. It is necessary to carefully ensure that individual objects are not too strong in tone (black) and do not fall out (break out) from the picture. To do this, you need to look at the drawing from a distance with narrowed eyes and compare the strength of your reflexes with nature. It must be remembered that reflexes should not be very bright or conflict with light or partial shade. And when the painter looks at them with narrowed eyes, they should disappear, merge with the shadows.

Rules for drawing up a still life

Drawing up a still life must begin with a plan, in our particular case, with setting an educational task (constructive, graphic, pictorial, etc.). Through comparative analysis, they come to determine the most characteristic features of the form and generalize observations and impressions. It must be remembered that each new object in the production is “a new measure of all the things included in it, and its appearance is like a revolution: objects change and change their relationships, as if falling into another dimension.”

It is important to choose a certain point of view correctly, in accordance with a specific educational task, i.e. horizon line (foreshortening). The next stage of drawing up a still life is the arrangement of objects in the space of the object plane, taking into account the design of the grouping in the composition.

The moment of drawing up a still life by the students themselves is important, since such exercises will allow them to carry out plastic tasks and the most advantageous groupings of objects.

One of the objects should become the compositional center of the production and stand out in size and tone. It should be placed closer to the middle of the production, and to add dynamism to the production (movement of spots) it can be moved to the right or left.

When solving a still life spatially, a small object that differs in texture and color from other objects can be placed in the foreground as an accent. To complete the composition, as well as to connect all the objects into a single whole, draperies are added to the production, thus also emphasizing the difference between solid objects and the soft flowing texture of the fabric. The fabric can be smooth and patterned or patterned, but it should not distract attention from other, especially the main items. It is often placed diagonally to direct the viewer's gaze away from the viewer and towards the compositional center for a better spatial solution.

Thus, we can conclude that the essence of composition is to find such a combination, organization of visual elements that would help identify the content.

Lighting - artificial or natural - plays an important role in the composition of a still life. Light can be lateral, directional or diffused (from a window or with general lighting). When a still life is illuminated with directional light from the front or side, objects appear in contrasting chiaroscuro, while to highlight the first (or main) plan, you can block some of the light falling on the background. When lighting a still life from a window (if the objects are placed on the windowsill), there will be a silhouette of dark on light, and some of the color will disappear if the still life is painted in color. The tonal difference between objects is more noticeable in diffused light.

In educational still lifes, objects of different tones are selected, without combining only light or dark objects in one setting, and at the same time taking into account the shapes of falling shadows.

Consists of three objects (one large - the center of the composition and two or three smaller ones) and draperies;

Items are different in color, but not intense colors;

Small objects can be active in color (they are used to compare color characteristics);

Objects and draperies should have a pronounced tonal difference;

Place the production in direct daylight (large color relationships are easy to read and have decorative appeal).

Compliance with these rules will allow students, in the process of practical work on an educational still life, to most clearly identify the main pictorial relationships and will aim at the correct vision of tonal differences, which will contribute to the correct transmission of the materiality of things by color.

The course program involves studying the basics of pictorial literacy using the example of still lifes and depicting them using painting methods in different materials.

1. Types of still lifes

Still life(French nature morte lit. dead nature) - in fine art - the image of inanimate objects, in contrast to portraiture, genre historical and landscape themes.

Still life is one of the genres of fine art, dedicated to the reproduction of household items, fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc. The task of an artist depicting a still life is to convey the coloristic beauty of the objects surrounding a person, their volumetric and material essence, as well as to express his attitude towards the depicted objects. Drawing a still life is especially useful in educational practice for mastering the skill of painting, since in it the novice artist comprehends the laws of color harmony and acquires the technical skill of pictorial modeling of form.

Still life appeared as an independent genre in art at the turn of the 16th – 17th centuries. in Holland and Flanders and since then has been used by many artists to convey the direct connection of art with the life and everyday life of people. This is the time of artists who glorified themselves in the genre of still life, P. Klas, V. Kheda, A. Beyeren and V. Kalf, Snyders and others.

Still life is the most favorite genre in the art of many contemporary artists. Still lifes are painted in the open air, in the interior, simple and complex settings, traditional and highly modern arranged sets of objects from everyday life.

There are several types of still lifes:

– plot-thematic;

– educational;

– educational and creative;

– creative.

Still lifes are distinguished:

– by color (warm, cold);

– by color (close, contrasting);

– by illumination (direct lighting, side lighting, against the light);

– by location (still life in the interior, in the landscape);

– according to performance time (short-term – “slap” and long-term – multi-hour performances);

– according to the formulation of the educational task (realistic, decorative, etc.).

Still life in landscape (en plein air) can be of two types: one - compiled in accordance with the chosen topic, the other - natural, “random”. It can be either independent or an integral part of a genre painting or landscape. Often a landscape or genre scene itself only complements the still life.

Still life in the interior involves the arrangement of objects surrounded by a large space, where the objects of the still life are in subordination to the interior.

Plot-thematic still life implies the unification of objects by theme, plot.

Educational still life. In it, as in a plot-thematic one, it is necessary to coordinate objects in size, tone, color and texture, reveal the design features of objects, study proportions and identify patterns of plasticity of various forms. The educational still life is also called academic or, as stated above, staged. Educational still life differs from creative still life in its strict goal setting: to give students the basics of visual literacy, to help activate their cognitive abilities and to involve them in independent creative work.

IN decorative still life the main task is to identify the decorative qualities of nature, to create a general impression of elegance. Decorative still life is not an accurate depiction of nature, but reflection on a given nature: it is the selection and capture of the most characteristic, the rejection of everything random, the subordination of the structure of the still life to the specific task of the artist.

The main principle of solving a decorative still life is the transformation of the spatial depth of the image into a conditional flat space. At the same time, it is possible to use several plans that must be located within a shallow depth. The educational task facing the student in the process of working on a decorative still life is to “identify the characteristic, most expressive quality and strengthen it in its decorative processing; in the decorative solution of a still life, you should try to see the characteristic in it and build the processing on this.

1. Rules for drawing up a still life

Drawing up a still life must begin with an idea. Through comparative analysis, they come to determine the most characteristic features of the form and generalize observations and impressions. It must be remembered that each new object in the production is “a new measure of all things included in it, and its appearance is like a revolution: objects change and change their relationships, as if falling into another dimension.”

It is important to choose a certain point of view correctly, in accordance with a specific educational task, i.e. horizon line (foreshortening). The next stage of drawing up a still life is the arrangement of objects in the space of the object plane, taking into account the design of the grouping in the composition.

One of the objects should become the compositional center of the production and stand out in size and tone. It should be placed closer to the middle of the production, and to add dynamism to the production (movement of spots) it can be moved to the right or left.

When solving a still life spatially, a small object that differs in texture and color from other objects can be placed in the foreground as an accent. To complete the composition, as well as to connect all the objects into a single whole, draperies are added to the production, thus also emphasizing the difference between solid objects and the soft flowing texture of the fabric. The fabric can be smooth and patterned or patterned, but it should not distract attention from other, especially the main items. It is often placed diagonally to direct the viewer's gaze away from the viewer and towards the compositional center for a better spatial solution.

Lighting – artificial or natural – plays an important role in the composition of a still life. Light can be lateral, directional or diffused (from a window or with general lighting). When lighting a still life from a window (if the objects are placed on the windowsill), there will be a silhouette of dark on light, and some of the color will disappear if the still life is painted in color. The tonal difference between objects is more noticeable in diffused light.

When starting to work on a painting, you need to pay attention to the following basic requirements.

1) The lighting is even, diffused, falling from the left side, so that the shadow from the hand does not cross the sheet. It is unacceptable for a sheet of paper to be illuminated by sunlight.

2) The sheet must be placed no closer than arm's length. When working, it is advisable to move away from the sketch or leave it to examine from afar. This technique allows you to more clearly see your mistakes or successes.

3) The object of the image (model) should be located slightly to the left of the student’s workplace at a distance from which it can be viewed as a whole. The larger it is, the greater the distance between it and the image.

4) Long staging studies are performed on paper stretched over a tablet.

The work begins with the compositional placement of the image on a sheet of paper. First, the student must examine the still life from all sides and determine from which point of view it is more advantageous (more effective) to place the image on the plane. Before starting painting, the student must familiarize himself with the nature, note its characteristic features, and understand the general color of the production.

The study of nature begins with direct observation. The student first visually gets acquainted with nature, and then his attention switches to its proportions, character of form, movement, lighting, color and tone. Such preliminary observation of nature serves as a step to a detailed analysis of the object.

The image begins with a light pencil drawing. It is necessary to avoid prematurely loading the sheet with unnecessary spots and lines. The form is drawn very generally and schematically. The basic character of the large form is revealed.

The student’s task is to learn to separate the important from the secondary. To prevent the details from distracting the beginner’s attention from the main character of the form, it is suggested to squint the eyes so that the form looks like a silhouette, like a general spot, and the details disappear.

When working on still lifes, both “a la prima” techniques and multi-layer (2-4) glaze painting are appropriate.

When all the details are recorded and the image is carefully modeled in tone and color, the process of generalization begins.

At the last and most important stage of work on the production, the student sums up the work done: checks the general state of the image, subordinates the details to the whole, generalizes the color scheme. At the final stage of work, it is advisable to return again to a fresh, original perception.

The task is not blind copying, but the need for a creative approach to depicting nature.