Still life paintings introduced something visionary into the prior painting revolutions. It did not concentrate on aesthetics, illustrations or mimetic but concentrated contrarily on the lines, forms, colors and orientation on the canvas. Such paintings got their due quite late. It was Paul Cezanne's Impressionism which finally made Still life paintings into a cult art form.

Still life paintings deal with trivial objects. They can be an apple or a vase or a flower or even a toilet flush. The idea is to make the objects shine above the two dimensional plane and explain a thing or two through its uniformity. Today with computer graphics and videos, three dimensional, accentuated effects has been made completely possible. It is quite amazing how such art form was ravaged in the 16th, 17th and parts of 18th century in Europe.

Still life oil paintings are perfected on canvas. Linen canvas with a primer coat gives the best possible opportunity for depicting still life paintings. Still life oil paintings are done through multilayer with the underpinned layer made from turpentine. A boiled mixture of resin and linseed further adds to the oil medium with which a symmetry is able achieved.

Still life oil paintings have been done since times immemorial but the abstract artists of the early 20th century gave it the plaudits it always deserved. Picasso experimented with still life painting in his cubist adventure. It aimed at showing the world from a vantage point as is conceived by God and not as perceived. Abstract art movements which were aimed at showing the illusory fleeting vision of visual reality also worked grandly on the themes of color, line, form and orientation. This is where the still life oil paintings ran in sync with the concept of abstract art.

Still life oil paintings are spread on the canvas and works on the contrasting effect of texture and oils. Still life oil paintings have changed quite a lot in the subjects that it took within its compass. There was a time when religious depictions and allegorical symbolism dominated the fiber of still life oil paintings. With time the subjects changed to trivial objects. This change was heralded through depictions of food and eatable items. Next in line were tooth brushes, gardening equipments and anything in general. Concepts kept on changing. Braque's The Guitar is an able example of how still life oil paintings were amalgamated into the abstract art set-up.