Boomstudie 1813 - 1863

Arnoldus Johannes Eymer created this tree study with graphite. The composition is immediately striking: the central tree trunk commands attention through its verticality and detailed texture, contrasted with the softer, more diffuse background. The limited palette heightens the focus on form and structure. Eymer’s approach invites us to consider structuralist interpretations. Note how the network of branches creates a semiotic system, each line and curve acting as a signifier. These elements, when taken together, evoke not just the physical appearance of a tree, but also ideas of growth, strength, and natural order. The deliberate detail in the foreground, against the hazy background, establishes a binary that plays with our perception of depth and space. The artist seems less concerned with literal representation and more interested in the underlying architecture of the natural world. This emphasis challenges the traditional landscape art values of realism, moving towards a more abstract engagement with nature's forms. It is a study not just of a tree, but of the very structures that define our perception.