Italy, 19th century / c. 1897
Pine Tree
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Pine Tree as painting (Italy, 19th century · c. 1897).
The bottom right portion of this painting was left unfinished; the earth-red ground layer is still visible.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on canvas and credits Giovanni Segantini (Italian, 1858–1899).
The museum's collection notes: Segantini painted this view of a pine tree in the Swiss Alps with his distinctive combination of brilliant colors applied in small, broken strokes. Rather than a direct transcription of nature, the extreme close-up view and the flat, decorative space are designed to arouse an emotional response. Finding spiritual consolation in the lush forests and clear light around his home in the Alps, Segantini wrote: “I am now working passionately to wrest the secret of Nature’s spirit from her. Nature utters the eternal word to the artist: love, love; and the earth sings life in spring, and the soul of things reawakens.”
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPine TreeOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.