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Paintings of the Same Subject
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Tree of Life
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The Tree of Life
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
First half of 17th Century British
Canvas worked with silk thread; tent, Gobelin, and couching stitches
Textiles Embroidered
This unique image of a miraculous tree bearing multiple species of fruits and vegetables can be identified as the biblical Tree of Life. A multifruiting tree is described in the Book of Revelations; a tree that grows in the celestial City of God bearing twelve types of fruit that ripen during every month of the year. This association with the Tree of Life in Revelations is reinforced by the curling grape vine wrapped around the trunk of the tree, which is symbolic of the Passion of Christ and the promise of eternal life.
The addition of numerous animals and the presence of both the sun and the moon also refer to the abundance of the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis.
Tree of Life
Rae Chichilnitsky
2008
Stained glass on canvas
Tree of Life
Kazuto Uota
Osaka, Japan
1990
Celtic Tree of Life
Jen Delyth
1989
Jen Delyth created her distinctive and widely known image - "Celtic Tree of Life" in 1989, inspired by the interconnectedness of all things - the circle of life - plants, animals, the above and below, the circle that connects us all.
The Emanuel Tree (or "Tree of LIfe")
Imre Varga
Holocaust Memorial Garden, Budapest, Hungary
Tree of Life
Mosaic on Wat Xieng Thong temple
Laos
Tree of Life
Aurelio Flores
Candelabra
Mexican Folk Art
Good! I’m glad you enjoy it, Kristine! I had a lot of fun finding these various representations...there were a lot more, less famous. Of course, some of the above aren’t necessary ‘world famous’ artists. But I believe there is still some good art out there untouched as yet.I really like the colorful ones!
Seems like I've seen some chinoiserie using the tree of life. I wondered what it represented. I really like the Mexican work.
I think all the symbolism described with the Klimt painting is very interesting. Post #1
The Tree of Life
Gustav Klimt
1905
The Tree of life is an important symbol used by many theologies, philosophies and mythologies. It signifies the connection between heaven and earth and the underworld, and the same concept is illustrated by Gustav Klimt's famous mural, The Tree of Life. For Klimt's admirers, the mural also has another significance, being the only landscape created by the artist during his golden period. Klimt used oil painting techniques with gold paint, to create luxurious art pieces, during that time.
The concept of the tree of life is illustrated by Gustav Klimt's painting, in a bold and original manner. The swirling branches create mythical symbolism, suggesting the perpetuity of life. The branches twist, twirl, turn, spiral and undulate, creating a tangle of strong branches, long vines and fragile threads, an expression of life's complexity. With its branches reaching for the sky, the tree of life roots into the earth beneath, creating the connection between heaven and earth, a concept often used to explain the concept of the tree of life, in many cultures, religions and ideologies. The tree of life illustrated by Klimt also creates another connection, with the underworld, signifying the final determinism governing over any living thing, that is born, grows, and then returns back into the earth.
While many talk about the symbol of unity in Gustav Klimt' The Tree of Life, there are others that consider it an expression of masculine and feminine. The feminine expressed in the painting symbolizes sustenance, care and growth, while the masculine is expressed through the use of phallic representations. From this different union, life is born, and the tree of life, as well.
Others say that the painting symbolizes the union between man's greatest virtues, which are strength, wisdom and beauty. The tree reaching for the sky is a symbol of man's perpetual yearning for becoming more, yet his roots are still bound to the earth.
One of the important qualities of The Tree of Life is that it challenges the viewer to spend more time admiring the painting, while gauging all its meanings. While the artist uses a richness of symbols, gold for paint and other luxurious techniques to illustrate a magical world, the presence of a single black bird draws the viewer towards the central part of the painting. The black bird is a reminder that everything that has a beginning also has an end, as black birds have been used as a symbol of death by many cultures.
https://www.gustav-klimt.com/The-Tree...