Boomstudie before 1917

Editor: This is "Boomstudie," a tree study, by Matthijs Maris, made before 1917. It’s a pencil drawing on paper, held in the Rijksmuseum collection. It feels like a very personal, quiet observation. What do you see in this piece, looking at it with your expert eyes? Curator: What strikes me is the tension between the skeletal branches reaching upwards, almost pleading, and the dense, grounded trunk. The tree as a symbol is so deeply rooted in our cultural memory. We see it representing life, death, and rebirth across countless cultures. Editor: So, you see a contrast between the life force of the reaching branches and something more solid and perhaps more enduring in the trunk? Curator: Exactly. Think about the Yggdrasil, the World Tree in Norse mythology, or the Tree of Knowledge in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The tree, and this one is no exception, acts as an axis mundi, connecting the earthly realm to the celestial and the underworld. It bears psychological weight. Even Maris' choice to render it in pencil contributes. What feeling do you get from that particular choice? Editor: It feels very immediate and intimate, as though we are seeing a glimpse into his thoughts, the quick capturing of a single moment and place in time. It shows this ongoing dance between transience and rootedness that you mention. It has an emotive depth far beyond just an illustration. Curator: I think you've articulated it perfectly. It makes us wonder, doesn't it, about the relationship between the artist and the natural world and even his own inner life? Editor: Definitely. I’ve learned to consider how even a simple sketch like this is really a window into complex layers of meaning and feeling. Curator: And the cultural baggage of such simple imagery as trees is profound. A drawing may seem at first glance, quiet and minimal, but with symbolism it transcends being a study into a mirror of the human soul.