The goal of a still-life artist is to lovingly reproduce renderings of inanimate objects and scenes commonplace throughout life. These can be broken into different categories such as flowers, food, animals, and even fish.
It serves as great practice for any artist, whether they are only beginners or longtime veterans, but it also holds a much deeper significance. For still-life art, the artist comes into direct experience with the present. moment.
This can also be said of the viewer, who finds themselves lost while staring into these somewhat mundane subject matters. However, through this viewing, the profound importance of the symbols is often uncovered, and there is perhaps no more potent symbol than that of the fish.
Still Life with Fish by Edouard Manet
French artist Édouard Manet is credited with being one of the first artists of the 19th century to paint modern, everyday life. He is regarded as one of the critical artists responsible for the transition from Realism to Impressionism and is considered to be a significant influence on many future painters.
Like much of Manet’s work, Still Life with Fish combines both the more classical traditions of Realism and the innovations and models of Impressionism. This might be one of the factors why the fish artist’s work was met with a lot of skepticism and pushback when it was first introduced.
The painting itself shows a table that houses two dead fish, some oysters, an eel, and a lemon on top of it. Even though it is a still-life painting and the creatures depicted are dead, nothing is still about it. Due to its Impressionist style, the scene seems to come to life, and you can practically feel what it would be like to be present there.
Fish Catch and Dawes Point, Sydney Harbor by John Lewin
John Lewin was an English-born artist during the 19th century. Later, he moved to Australia during its colonization period and is considered the amazing fish artist of the colony of New South Wales. He illustrated many of the first volumes of Australian natural history, including many native plants, animals, and fish.
His painting entitled Fish Catch and Dawes Point, Sydney Harbor is an exciting piece because it is regarded as Australia’s earliest oil canvas painting. For this reason, the historical value alone is something worthy of note.
It depicts some of the various fish found in the waters of Sydney harbor. Its precise colors and high level of detail act as both a remarkable oil painting and a naturalist study and cataloging of the species of fish found on the continent of Australia.
Rainbow Trout by Pierre Auguste Renoir
Another painting constructed in a similar Impressionist fashion as Manet’s is Pierre Renoir’s painting simply titled Rainbow trout. Also painted in France, it seems to hold a more dreamlike quality in its composition, and you can tell that it was painted with care and love.
You can also see the more remarkable distinction of Impressionism shine through, as, by this time, most artists had fully embraced and made the complete transition to this particular method of painting. The warm colors and expressive brushstrokes are what give this piece its magic.
Renoir was a nature-lover and a boating enthusiast, and subjects such as water and fish appear in many of his paintings. It is interesting to note that both Renoir and Manet painted scenes from the same river, and Renoir would take over what Manet started and become one of France’s finest Impressionist painters.
A Still Life of Fish and Fishing Tackle by Abraham Mignon
Dutch artist Abraham Mignon was a still-life painter known for his beautiful flower paintings. His other artwork consisted of stunningly detailed depictions of still life with fruit, forests, nature scenes, and still life consisting of game and fish.
Unlike Manet and Renoir, Mignon was a 17th-century painter, and this meant that his work was rooted in Realism and often accompanied by religious motifs. One such work is his excellent fish painting titled, A Still Life of Fish and Fishing Tackle.
In this exciting scene, several fish lay strewn across a table while held up by a fishing line. The table is overrun with fish and other foods representing abundance. The bread and grapes present are said to be a symbol of salvation, symbolizing Jesus’s blessings at the last supper.
Still Life of Fish and Lemons by Clara Peeters
Clara Peeters was a Belgian painter during the 17th century who gained prominence in both the Netherlands and Spain. She is best known for her meticulous brushwork and attention to detail, the low angle of perspective involved in her artwork, and the level of Realism within the textures she painted.
Her painting “Still Life of Fish and Lemons” is an excellent example of this. The level of detail, shadow, and color make it almost seem like you are looking at a photograph. Still, unlike the Impressionist painters of the 19th century, who have the uncanny ability to bring paintings to life, artists of this earlier period seem to be somewhat lacking in this regard.
The painting is incredibly realistic but is somewhat lifeless and is still in the truest sense of the word. Nevertheless, Peeters’s achievements and ability to produce photorealistic Realism is a feat many painters could only dream of. Her work, like all artists, should stand alone for what it is and not be compared to others.
Conclusion
When thinking of topics of still-life paintings, fish are often chosen for several different reasons. Their movements are hypnotic and enticing, but they also act as a profound symbol for life itself. If you can’t afford the responsibility of a fish as a pet, then a fish painting might be the next best thing.