\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx8790\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 The genre of still life was always popular with the wealthy merchant class, which liked to see
its own tranquil and secure way of life reflected in the representation of objects of everyday use.\par
Intended to decorate the walls of bourgeois homes, still lifes often included household objects and utensils, celebrating the achievements of contem
porary society. The accurate description of precious objects, symbols of social rank, often accompanied portraits of members of the nobility and bourgeoisie. The cups and pot of a coffee service help to underline the domestic intimacy of a family reunion
, evoking a ritual that still plays an important part in todayÆs society.\par
\pard\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 The freedom of expression attained by artists over the course of the nineteenth century and the progressive shift in emphasis away from the obj
ect represented induced many painters to experiment with new figurative languages and to take the reality of their surroundings as their subject. The masters of Cubism tried out their own revolutionary approach in still lifes, breaking up the objects and
bringing bits of reality into their pictures through the insertion of letters, pieces of wallpaper, newspaper cuttings and other materials.
