Bovenste gedeelte van een boom 1829 - 1830

Barend Cornelis Koekkoek rendered the upper section of a tree with pencil and brush. The tree, a dominant symbol in art, extends its branches, laden with leaves, toward the heavens. The tree motif is as old as time. In ancient cultures, trees were often seen as the axis mundi, the center of the world, connecting the earth with the sky. In Christianity, the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden represents immortality, while the Tree of Knowledge symbolizes the fall of man. We see echoes of this in Yggdrasil, the world tree in Norse mythology. Consider how the tree evolves in art, from a background element to a powerful symbol of life, growth, and interconnectedness. It taps into our collective memory, evoking feelings of nature, spirituality, and the enduring cycle of life, reminding us that we are all interconnected.