Studieblad met palmbomen in twee groepen 1869 - 1873

Rodolphe Bresdin made this drawing of palm trees in pen and brown ink. Bresdin was active in France in the mid-19th century, a time when French society was expanding its colonial reach. Drawings and paintings of exotic landscapes became increasingly popular with the French public. Note the inclusion of a dead man and a deer in this drawing. How do these figures complicate the otherwise idyllic scene of palm trees? Do they symbolize some sort of anxiety about France’s colonial project? The palm tree itself could be viewed as a symbol of colonialism in the sense that its image became shorthand for France’s colonial possessions. And yet, Bresdin’s drawing seems to question this logic by including images of death. To better understand this drawing, one could research the history of French colonialism and also look at other French artists who represented similar scenes. This artwork reminds us that images do not simply reflect reality, they also shape how we understand the world.