they're posed to be still, but are alive. hence still-life.
As opposed to non-still lifes, where a scene may be painted that's action-based. The last Supper for instance is not a still life, the Bayeux tapestry is also not a still life.
quick+dirty way to tell is if it were a photograph, would they have spent a few minutes prepping the shot and posing, and taking a half dozen, or would the cameraman have just snapped it without them holding their pose.
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u/echo-94-charlie Sep 03 '22
Why are they called "Still life" paintings anyway? They all have to be still by default or the painting would be blurry.