anchor
hope
Apple
The apple: Another big one in that there are many meanings. It can signify love, knowledge, wisdom, joy, and death. In religious works it usually means temptation, and original sin. The apple is also associated with a woman’s anatomy, breasts in particular, and then the core of the halved apple representing her sexuality or reproductive parts.
Artichokes
Artichokes, asparagus and strawberries were, for their part, symbolic of the fruits of Paradise or Heaven.
Asparagus
Artichokes, asparagus and strawberries were, for their part, symbolic of the fruits of Paradise or Heaven.
balloon
childhood, holding on, letting go
Bee
The bee, as well as the butterfly, are symbols of hope, and because they are rather delicate, are a reminder to the fragility of life.
Bee
A bee in a still life painting signifies the brittleness of life and how helpless we are against the course of destiny, also encourages industriousness. This is different than other insects depicted in still life painting, devouring the fruit or dead animals, which signifies death and “memento mori”.
bell
warning, alarm, time, religious, Christmas, wedding
bird
freedom
Birds (Pair)
Birds, or a pair of birds represent the resurrection of the soul after death.
bones
death, mortality
bones
When skulls or bones appear in still life paintings, they often have a moral purpose, with the aim of keeping humanity's morals in check. Skulls symbolize mortality and ephemerality. They are a reminder of the fleeting pleasures of life. Skulls in art also represent inner contemplation, eternity, and life beyond the earthly and visible.
book(s)
knowledge, wisdom, learning
Books
Books: learning or of transmitting knowledge.
broom
home, marriage
butterfly
soul, resurrection of christ
Butterfly
The butterfly represents the soul, transformation and resurrection, and the hope of the caterpillar to emerge out of a cocoon as a beautiful butterfly.
Candle
The candle, it’s a big one and has lots of meanings. It can indicate the passing of time, faith in God (when its burning). When extinguished, it means death, or the loss of virginity, and the corruption of matter.
It can symbolize light in the darkness of a lonely individual, or the light of Christ, purification or cleansing.
carved pumpkin
Halloween
Cat
The Cat: usually meant illicit love. Medieval times the cat represented lust and prostitutes (now you know where the term “cat house” comes from). But in later paintings, it is included to help provide a peaceful and enjoyable companion with which they are depicted. For centuries cats are considered mysterious, beautiful, and exotic.
chain
union
Clock
The clock: the passing of time.
coin
power, luck, superstition
Color - Black
Mystery, death
Color - Blue
Calm
Color - Green
Envy
Color - White
Innocence, peace
cross
Christianity, faith
crown
power, authority
Dove
Peace
dying flowers
transience of life
Eagle
Freedom
Feathers
Skulls or bones, when in the painting, symbolize mortality. The skull also represent inner contemplation, and eternity.
Feathers
Feathers appearing in a still life painting can symbolize a scientific interest in understanding nature and birds, acknowledging a connection to world around us. In religious paintings, feathers can symbolize virtues such as hope, faith and charity. Feathers can also represent freedom (because they enable flight), the sky, and the heavens.
fire
desire, destruction, passion
Fire
Knowledge, passion
Fish and cat
Death as a general theme appears in this painting with the dead fish being eaten by a cat. Fish was a symbol for Christ and cats were considered images of indiscretion or unteachable beings that aid evil. So possibly the artist is trying to warn against a danger to faith, maybe by gluttony hidden in the shining shell of the lobster below the fish.
flame
eternity
Flowers
Beauty, calm
Flowers
Flowers have long been a favorite subject matter for still life painters. The meaning of flowers in a still life painting depends upon the type of flower. It's also important to take into account whether the flower is fresh or wilting. In general, flowers can symbolize innocence as well as impermanence - a reminder of the shortness of our existence and the fleeting nature of life's earthly pleasures. Flowers symbolize nature and the four seasons. Flowers in a still life can reflect an interest in science and the natural world. Flowers were depicted for aesthetic purposes and also at times they were used as religious symbols. Individual flowers had their own meaning, such as the rose for love, the lily for purity, and the sunflower for devotion.
foods
Natural foods such as fruit, vegetables, and meat often show up in still life paintings. The symbolism of the food depends on whether the food is fresh and ripe or decaying. Food in a still life often points out our mortality and the ephemerality of earthly existence. When the food is fresh and ripe, it can signify abundance, riches, and the bounty of the upper class. Decaying food can serve as a reminder of our own mortality and the inevitability of change.
four-leaf clover
good fortune
Fox
Cleverness, sneakiness
full bowl
prosperity
Glass
The almost empty glass signifies brittleness of life but also since glass was an expensive object, it stood for a life of luxury.
gold
wealth
Gold or silver objects
Expensive luxury items depicted wealth and power in still life paintings, however, when they are tipped over, as in this painting, the message encourages moderation and reminds the transience of earthly riches.
hammer
justice, revenge, destruction
harp
hope
Heart
Love
hearth
warmth, family
hourglass
passing of time
Inverted Triangle
Flip the triangle,(an inverted triangle) and it means an entirely different thing. The downward pointing triangle is a very ancient symbol of femininity, being representative of female anatomy and the womb. It also symbolizes earth with its feminine qualities (mother earth).
Ivy
Ivy, as an evergreen symbolizes eternal life.
key
opening, closing, access
Key
Answer, solution to a problem
knife
betrayal, division, sacrifice, superstition, survival, martyrdom
lamp
knowledge
Lemons
Lemons (in earlier times) was a very expensive food item, and a popular item used, especially peeled with its attractive play of lights on translucent flesh, yet they are so sour and bitter, and in this symbolizes the deceptive allure or attraction of earthly beauty.
Lily
Purity
lit candle
life
living flowers
friendship, sympathy, affection, love
Lobster
All pieces of meat, ham, game, and shellfish symbolize wealth, gluttony and temptation while drawing attention yet again to the transience of wealth.
Lute
The Lute (a really old version of a guitar) with broken strings: Death or discord.
mirror
vanity, reflection of one's soul
Mirror
Mirror: stands for truth or vanity. By showing an image of a subject that reflect what others see. This self awareness allows fruitful introspection and the viewers attempt to find the truth, or lead to simple vanity.
Monkey
Artists during the renaissance era also used things like monkeys, parrots and other birds, and cats. The parrot, the birds, and the cat – like the monkey – personify specifically human failings. The monkey represents chaos. They also symbolize man entrapped by earthly and sensual desires. When the monkey is depicted holding an apple, it represented the fall of man.
Mouse
The mouse, being a very fertile animal, became a symbol of lechery and destruction.
musical instruments
romance, wealth, leisure
olive branch
goodwill
Owl
Wisdom
Peach
The peach symbolizes truth and salvation, and is used as a replacement to the maligned apple
peach
The peach symbolizes truth and salvation, and is used as a replacement to the maligned apple
Peaches
Peaches stand as an image of the trade from warmer countries but also, the artists of Renaissance symbolically used peach to represent the heart, while a ripe peach was also a symbol to imply a ripe state of good health.
pet
unconditional love
photograph(s)
memories
Pomegranate
Fertility, desire, abundance, but also resurrection and immortality, inspired by the mythological story of Persephone and Hades.
purse
vanity, wealth
quill and ink
learning
red rose
romance, love
ring
friendship, eternity
Rose
Love
round table
equality
scroll
learning, knowledge, wisdom, life, time
seed
new life
Shells
Shells, in a religious work, represent pilgrimages, or saints. The clam symbolize the Virgin Mary. In contemporary works, they symbolize sensuality and the pleasures of the flesh.
Shells
Shells, in a religious work, represent pilgrimages, or saints (It is a symbol of st. James, the patron of pilgrims). The clam symbolizes the Virgin Mary.
Shells
Shells in a still life painting can represent a number of things, depending on the context of the artwork. In a religious painting, scallop shells or clams symbolize the Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception, pilgrimages, or saints. On the flip side, shells in secular works can symbolize sensuality and the pleasures of the flesh. Shells can also signify a scientific interest in oceanography.
sickle/scythe
death (final harvest)
skull
death, mortality
skulls
When skulls or bones appear in still life paintings, they often have a moral purpose, with the aim of keeping humanity's morals in check. Skulls symbolize mortality and ephemerality. They are a reminder of the fleeting pleasures of life. Skulls in art also represent inner contemplation, eternity, and life beyond the earthly and visible.
Snail
From Matisse to the Old Masters, snails are commonly depicted in art and carry rich symbolism. Since early Renaissance, snails were considered an image of the Virgin Birth and the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, possibly because people could not imagine how snails would reproduce. Some resources site snails also as symbols for humility and everyday life.
Snake
Evil
snuffed candle
death
Spring
Beginning, birth
staff
leadership
star
achievement, success
stars
distance, magic
Strawberries
Artichokes, asparagus and strawberries were, for their part, symbolic of the fruits of Paradise or Heaven.
suitcase
journey, travel
Sunflower
Devotion
Sword
The sword also a common item in earlier works, but not used much in contemporary art. It symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, courage. It is phallic, (with the sheath representing the female reproductive parts) and many paintings with soldiers, swords and women in the painting had the sexual overtones within their meaning.
sword
The sword symbolizes power, protection, authority, strength, courage. It is phallic, (with the sheath representing the female reproductive parts) and many paintings with soldiers, swords and women in the painting had the sexual overtones within their meaning.
torch off
death
torch on
life
triangle, pyramid
The triangle, in the form of the pyramid with its point upwards, is a sign of the Holy Spirit or the Trinity all through Christian still life symbolism.
Vine Leaves and grapes
The vine leaves enclosing the food could be representing Christian values and Jesus, as a reminder of the wine Jesus offered to his apostles at the Last Supper. They could also be symbolizing earthly pleasures, through the God of Wine, Bacchus.
Violin
The violin, with its easily snapped strings, symbolizes the broken threads of time and indicates the futility of earthly existence.
wedding ring
love, eternity
Wind/storms
Anger, trouble
wrist watch
prosperity, innovation, fashion
Raven
Ravens feed on corpses, so audiences naturally identify it with a bad omen. The symbol can be used to foretell death and disaster.
Dove
Doves are used as a sign of peace or a tranquil state of mind. In a spiritual context, it can be used to symbolize grace and divinity.
Butterfly
Used in both myth and art, butterflies signify transformation, thanks to the showy insects famous metamorphoses.
Cross
Crosses symbolize spirituality and healing. The four points of a cross historically represent self, nature, wisdom and higher power.
Owl
When creating a visual story, an image of an Owl can be used to represent a character's intelligence or a lesson to be learned.
Water
Vital for survival, water represents birth, fertility and cleansing.
Rose
Besides an association with love and romance, the rose has also been used to represent the nation, as in the Wars of Roses.
Fire
A raging fire can symbolize anger, punishment and destruction. Ironically, it can also symbolize rebirth as in the myth of the Phoenix.
Arrows
Arrows can represent direction, ambition, speed and a desire for progress.
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https://thedramateacher.com/objects-as-symbols-in-performance/ Done
https://study.com/academy/lesson/symbols-in-literature-lesson-for-kids.html Done
https://www.easy-oil-painting-techniques.org/still-life-symbolism.html Done
https://www.art-is-fun.com/still-life-objects DONE
http://www.dailyartmagazine.com/small-guide-still-life-symbols-part-1/
http://www.dailyartmagazine.com/small-guide-still-life-symbols-part-2/
https://blog.mearto.com/2016/08/11/decoding-the-hidden-meanings-in-still-life-painting/
https://visme.co/blog/symbols-and-meanings/
Grouping. Layers. Color libraries.
Composition = Pattern. Movement. Balance