What is the term for a painting of inanimate objects?

The term for a painting of inanimate objects is still life.

Still-life art typically depicts arranged, nonliving subjects such as fruit, flowers, food, books, vessels, jewelry, coins, or musical instruments. Because the objects do not move, the artist can carefully control their placement, lighting, color, texture, and symbolic meaning. The form can be intimate and domestic or highly elaborate and ceremonial.

Still life has roots in ancient Greco-Roman art and medieval religious imagery, but it became a distinct genre in Western painting during the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in the Netherlands. Many early examples contained hidden messages: a skull could suggest mortality, while wilting flowers or extinguished candles could remind viewers that life is temporary.

The phrase “still life” comes from the Dutch stilleven, meaning a quiet or motionless life. It is not the same as landscape, which focuses on outdoor scenery, or portraiture, which represents a person. “Genre painting” is a broader category depicting scenes of everyday life and may include people, activity, or interiors rather than only arranged objects.