Beauty, filth, violence and death: why still life art is more subversive than you think

Once dismissed as a lesser art form, the still life has been reinvented as a radical form of expression, as a thrilling new show makes clearStill life is the lowest form of art. So declared the French Academy when it established its Hierarchy of Genres in the 17th century. Historical scenes and portraiture were the noblest genres, whereas landscapes and still lifes were considered lowly. According to the art institute, biblical frescoes required a higher level of mastery; an inanimate fruit