Olive Trees in Bordigher 1884

Here, we see Claude Monet's "Olive Trees in Bordigher," a painting rendered with oil. The overall visual effect is one of dense, interwoven forms, where the olive trees' foliage and branches create a screen that dominates the pictorial space. The earth tones and varied greens evoke a rich, tactile quality, inviting the viewer to experience the scene's sensory depth. Monet's brushstrokes are crucial here. Short, broken marks construct the forms, demonstrating a clear departure from traditional representation. The color is not descriptive but structural, building the composition through nuanced tonal relationships. This approach destabilizes the conventional understanding of landscape painting by prioritizing the act of seeing and painting over merely depicting a scene. The structure of the artwork operates almost as a semiotic system. The olive trees, traditionally symbols, here serve primarily as formal elements. Their arrangement and the way light plays across them create a dialogue about perception and representation. In this way, Monet encourages a continuous re-evaluation of how we perceive and interpret the natural world.