Trees 1908

Umberto Boccioni made "Trees" with what looks like charcoal or maybe soft pastels. It's got that lovely, smudgy quality that makes you feel like you could reach out and touch the bark. The colors are mostly muted browns and grays, but there are little sparks of white, giving the image this real sense of depth, like you could walk right into the woods. The marks are rapid and expressive, and you can see how Boccioni was interested in capturing not just the look of the trees but the feeling of being in the woods. Look closely at that big tree in the foreground. See how he's used these strong, dark lines to give it structure, but then softened them with smudges of gray? It's like he's showing us both the strength and the fragility of nature all at once. It reminds me a little bit of Cezanne, who was also interested in breaking things down into basic forms but still keeping that sense of movement and life. And isn't art just a conversation between artists across time? It's never about one definitive meaning, just a lot of possibilities.