Still life painting originates from the Flemish lowlands
…in the 16 th and 17 t centuries.
For the first time it gave the wealthy a chance to express themselves in subjects other than traditional Religious depictions and portraiture. It began as displays of flowers and ladened tables of food to reflect the prosperity of Dutch traders . Soon though symbolism became a significant part of still life scenes : skulls, clocks, fruit and insects inhabiting the flowers represented the transience of life and death itself while books suggested art and science. The style became known as Vanitas. https://www.britannica.com/art/vanitas-art
Looking at images , I can see evidence of colour theory in the rich lustrous reds and yellows of flowers against light reflected in silver and neutrals of vases and fabrics.
The influence of Vanitas can be seen in the centuaries since ; famously through post impressionist work right to today where visual and digital artists still throw back references to it https://wsimag.com/art/20372-contemporary-vanitas
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