Olive Trees

Edouard Pignon 1905 - 1993

Summary

One of the most striking features about the print is the vivid yellow that is used for the background and which is also picked out in the hat that the man in the foreground is wearing. The man is bending over from the waist reaching forward with his arms in front of him holding a stick. His position places his hat at the centre of the composition and therefore draws attention to the figure which is rendered in different shades of grey. The man is stripped to the waist only wearing the hat and some shorts. Behind the man are the trunks of three olive trees, which are also grey with white highlights and black shadows. The trunks are positioned in a series of diagonals, running down from top left to bottom right which echoes the arch of the man's back, or bottom left to upper right which acts as a counterpoint. The detail of the olive trees are also given in quite broad, loose strokes which gives a sense of dynamism. The composition has a sense of recession towards the right hand side as the figure is in the foreground on the left whilst the largest tree is in the centre of the midground and the third trunk is in the right distance and is a darker grey, emphasising the movement backwards.