Still Life & Classical Painting Inspiration

Still life painting is the original design exercise: arrange objects, control light, compose a frame. This collection draws from centuries of practice — Dutch Golden Age vanitas, 19th-century academic painting, and contemporary artists working in oil. The references are useful for designers thinking about composition, color relationships, lighting, and the arrangement of elements within a frame. There's more design thinking in a Chardin still life than in most brand guidelines.