Soldiers under a Tree n.d.

Editor: This is "Soldiers under a Tree," an ink drawing by Gustave Doré, from an unknown date. The mood strikes me as one of hushed tension, you know, like a moment before a storm, or maybe right *after* it has hit. What captures your attention when you look at this piece? Curator: Oh, absolutely that tension. It's there in the almost feverish detail Doré lavishes on the surrounding wilderness versus the stoic stillness of the soldiers. Do you feel that contrast? He crams the picture plane with gnarly branches and thorny undergrowth, using ink like a storm cloud, right? And there, nestled almost precariously in the center, are these men – soldiers perhaps catching their breath or, more hauntingly, entirely lost. Almost makes you wonder what "war" even means at that scale. Is it landscape, or figuration? Editor: I do, now that you mention it! I hadn't noticed how crammed it feels at first, almost claustrophobic. But why "precariously"? Curator: It's a feeling, I think, how the soldiers are so engulfed. It is hard to even see their faces clearly. You might ask: where does the war *begin*, for each of these fellows? They all have such different stances and levels of engagement, lost under this symbolic "tree." Editor: So the tree isn't just a tree? Curator: (chuckles) Darling, is anything just *anything* in art? It’s tempting to see the tree as a looming protector, or perhaps an indifferent observer to their plight...or a heavy shroud, don’t you think? Editor: I never thought of it like that, as a sort of commentary on the futility or maybe isolation of the figures from the overall picture. Thanks, this helps me to have a totally different viewpoint when viewing. Curator: Exactly! Sometimes the most compelling art isn't about offering answers but expanding our field of vision. And asking good questions to begin with. Thanks for walking in the woods with me, figuratively!