Trees Are Art

Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky. — Kahlil Gibran

Although Gibran’s verse is lyrical, if it were my line, I would say, “Trees are art that the earth creates.” Aside from the numerous health benefits afforded by trees and their essential role in maintaining life on our planet, they’re enduring inspiration for artists of diverse media.

Provence, Herbstbäume (Trees in Autumn), by Clara Vogedes, 1971. Watercolor. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

This came home to me as I walked the grounds of a retreat center during the last week of January. I didn’t immediately register “tree” each time I came upon one along a path. Instead, my initial impressions were of marks, textures, shapes, and colors. Those were followed by the mental process that identifies things with nomenclature from one’s familiar language: tree, branch, leaf, etc. (or árbol, rama, hoja; arbre, branche, feuille; albero, ramo, foglia).

The staggered holes pecked by sapsuckers reminded me of running stitches and the protuberances struck me as French knots. I saw rouche-like texture that could be translated into fabric or paper. I later learned that rouche is a word of Celtic origin for bark of a tree. The twists and turns of a trunk and its limbs struck me as sculptural.

Is it any wonder that all aspects of trees appear in all kinds of artwork, from the most abstract to the most representational?

Untitled (Tree Form), by Ruth Asawa, 1962. Naturally oxidized brass wire mounted on a driftwood base. Private collection, © Estate of Ruth Asawa.
Source: artsandculture.google.com/

Exterior sculpture of Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Metz, Lorraine, France. Begun in early 14th century, cathedral consecrated in 1552. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Canyon with Crows (1917), by Georgia O’Keeffe. Watercolor and graphite on paper. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Herbstbaum in bewegter Luft (Winterbaum) [Autumn Tree in Stirred Air (Winter Tree)], by Egon Shiele, 1912. Oil and pencil on canvas. Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Vincent van Gogh created a series of paintings, Trees and Undergrowth, from 1887 through 1890, that reflected a genre of painting known as sous-bois that was popular with Barbizon School and early Impressionist artists. Instead of following the traditional way of painting landscapes from afar, these painters went into forested areas for a close view. In the one below, from Paris, van Gogh portrays the play of light as it descends through the trees to the low-lying plants in white, yellow, and red. The resulting effect of light and shade is many shades of green, which he painted in short brushstrokes. A line of yellow suggests a horizon and a clearing beyond the trees and foliage.

Trees and Undergrowth (1887), by Vincent van Gogh. Oil on canvas. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

De grijze boom (Gray Tree), by Piet Mondrian, 1911. Oil on canvas. Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague, the Netherlands.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

“Study of a Tree” (C. 1864), By Albert Bierstadt. Oil on paper mounted on board. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Trees, one of a pair with F1962.32, by Master of I-nen Seal, 17th century. Ink, color, and gold on paper. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Avenue of Plane Trees (1916), by Santiago Rusiñol. Oil on canvas. Fundación Banco Santander, Madrid. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

The story behind the outdoor sculpture below is one of recycling/repurposing. According to its artist, Regan Gentry, Woods from the Trees re-imagines a reorganized Christchurch after the disastrous quakes of 2010-2011. His idea was to use wood from a demo house and return it to its original botanical form, thus illustrating Nature as a cyclical process of change, renewal, and sometimes reversion. Wood was collected from two separate properties, sorted, and fixed onto steel frames.

Woods From The Trees (2014), by Regan Gentry. Steel sub frame, salvaged Rimu, wire. Christchurch, New Zealand.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

A Dead Oak Tree (1830), by Carl Wilhelm Kolbe. Etching on laid paper. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Moored Boats and Trees (1890), by George Seurat. Oil on wood, oil on panel. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Deer amid pine trees (19th century), Anonymous. Korean hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

The Tree of Life is a common subject of artistic expressions in many cultures and a widespread archetype in various religions, mythologies, and folktales. Just as research informs us of the critical importance of trees, the Tree of Life can represent such themes as the source of life, a force that connects all lives, or the cycle of life and death itself. The Tree of Life is akin to both the World Tree, such as the Norse sacred tree Yggdrasill, and the Tree of Knowledge, purportedly in the Garden of Eden in the Abrahamic religions. The images below demonstrate how varied are the materials and styles employed to depict the Tree of Life, everything from carved rock to embroidered textile.

Tree of LIfe, part of a series of rock reliefs, at Taq-e Bostan, near Kermanshah, Iran, Sassanid Empire of Persia, carved c. 4th century CE.

Bakshaish Camelhair Rug, Tree of Life, early 19th century, artist unknown. Northwest Iran.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Árbol de la Vida (2014), rug by
Aida Vásquez Gutiérrez. Oaxaca, Mexico.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Tree of Life, stained glass. Christian church, Alingsås,
Diocese of Skara, Sweden.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

The Tree of Life. British embroidery, 17th century. Canvas worked with silk thread; tent, Gobelin, and couching stitches.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Wayang Kulit (Indonesian puppetry), Kayonan (tree of life), Java. Carved and painted water buffalo hide, gold leaf, and buffalo horn. commons.wikimedia.org/

The Tree of LIfe (1909), by Gustav Klimt. Oil painting. MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

One of the aspects of the arts that’s so fascinating is how one single subject—in this case, trees—can elicit countless interpretations across the globe and through millennia. The incredible diversity in trees themselves lends itself to such a wide array of images from different cultures and different times. Just walking along the path and appreciating the trees I stopped by made me grateful not only to them but, upon reflection, to the artists inspired by them.

Tree Nursery (1929), by Paul Klee. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

Swiss-born German artist Paul Klee (1879-1940) likened an artist to a tree. In a 1924 lecture about the creative process, he said: The artist has studied this world of variety and has…unobtrusively found his way in it. His sense of direction has brought order into the passing stream of image and experience. This sense of direction in nature and life, this branching and spreading array, I shall compare with the root of the tree. From the root the sap flows to the artist, flows through him, flows to his eye. Thus he stands as the trunk of the tree….And yet, standing at his appointed place…he does nothing other than gather and pass on what comes to him from the depths…he transmits. His position is humble. And the beauty at the crown is not his own. He is merely a channel.

Little Tree Amid Shrubbery (1919), by Paul Klee. Private Collection. Source: wikiart.org/

Questions & Comments:
How do you incorporate trees in your work: stitching, painting, etching, sculpting?
Which artists depict trees in a way that particularly speaks to you?
What special significance do trees hold for you?