In painting, in the interior: Still life

This thesis focuses on a research examining still-life themed works in interior spaces in painting. Still lifes stand out as a well-established and impressive genre of painting, and interior still lifes gained great popularity, especially during the Flemish Northern European Renaissance in the 17th century. Still life comes to our language from the French word (nature morte), meaning "dead nature". By investigating in detail the historical and artistic contexts of interior still lifes, the study aims to understand the deep and diverse role of this genre in painting. Still lifes in interior spaces have played an important role by reflecting the developments in the art of painting that have evolved over time with the different perspectives and stylistic approaches of artists. The focus of the thesis is to evaluate the evolution of art from a broad perspective by considering the role of interior still lifes in painting, as well as their social, cultural and periodic contexts. In this context, the nominalist philosophy of philosopher William of Ockham offered a new thought by directing the educated class in society to study nature. Painter Giotto de Bondone from Tuscany sought realism using light-shadow and perspective and initiated an important transformation in art. Roman Pliny the Elder, as the author of the encyclopedia "Natural Historia", described the works of the famous painter Peiraikos, who lived in the Hellenistic period. Taddeo Gaddi depicted a still life space filled with religious objects between two columns, which is an example of different representations of still life. Roelandt Savery established the genre of flower painting, and other artists such as Ambrosios Bosschaert imitated the style. As a result, this study aims to understand the importance and evolution of still lifes in interior painting, and reveals the strong presence of still lifes in painting by emphasizing their aesthetic, symbolic and cultural values. This work is important in terms of seeing the traces of past experiences in the context of the art history of my works and carrying these traces to the future. The objects used in still life art reflect our spiritual states into the work of art. Therefore, objects cease to be information and turn into aesthetic objects. For this reason, not looking at an ordinary object as an object but seeing experiences along with it makes it possible to evaluate still life art as reflections of the essence, not as arrangements of objects brought together.