Bergkers plukkende vrouw Possibly 1896

Ogata Gekko created this woodblock print of a woman picking mountain camellias. She is a figure deeply rooted in the symbol of the life-giving tree, a motif that stretches back into the most distant corners of our collective memory. Consider the sacred groves of ancient Europe or the veneration of trees in Hindu and Buddhist traditions; the tree as a symbol of life, growth, and connection to the divine is universal. The camellia she picks, however, is not a life-giving fruit, but an object of ephemeral beauty. The pursuit of beauty is a dangerous, tantalizing endeavor. We see this in the myth of Daphne, who transformed into a laurel tree to escape Apollo’s pursuit, or the tale of Narcissus, doomed by his infatuation with his own reflection. The woman’s yearning for the camellia speaks to the eternal human desire to capture beauty, even as it slips through our fingers. Like the camellia, the image is a fleeting, transient symbol in its own right, always evolving in meaning and significance.