From the time of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, people have decorated their homes with still lifes of fruit, flowers and common objects. This 4study of the Western still life, from antiquity to the present, contains information on artists such as Leonardo, Brueghel, Caravaggio, Manet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Lichtenstein, Hockney and many others, together with illustrations of their works. The text discusses not only the still lifes themselves, but also their historical and social context in all periods and countries of origin.