
Still Life
Artists have long used everyday or natural objects—from a silver platter to a blooming bouquet—to create still lifes. Through these works, they experiment with new styles and convey symbolic meanings.
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Article: Who Is Charles Ethan Porter? 7 Things to Know
Porter was the first known professional Black artist to specialize in still lifes, and his paintings were admired by the likes of writer Mark Twain and painter Frederic Edwin Church.

Article: Three Women Artists You May Not Have Heard Of
Meet the 17th-century painters Fede Galizia and Gesina Ter Borch. And see the only known work by Caterina Angela Pierozzi.

Article: Making Pictures of the Animals We Eat
When Dutch artist Willem van Aelst painted dead animals, did he use the images to grapple with the full circle of life?
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Landscapes
The beauty of the natural world has beguiled artists for centuries, and they have taken a wide variety of approaches to depicting it. Impressionists studied light and color, the artists of the Hudson Valley School created monumental views of the American sublime. And abstract artists have capture how landscapes feel rather than how they appear.

Portraits
Portraits represent people, either real or imagined, attempting to capture their appearance or essence. Some artists explored the human form and emotions through portraits of loved ones. Others made a living depicting wealthy or important people. And artists like Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh frequently used themselves as models.