An Old Tree

Lev Lagorio studied with Aivazovsky and then at the St Petersburg Academy of Arts. After graduating he worked for several years in France and Italy. An Old Tree dates from 1859 and probably belongs to the later part of that trip. He chose a damaged trunk rather than a celebrated building or panorama, making a woodland study into an investigation of form and light.

The split trunk exposes warm orange-brown wood beside almost grey bark. The difference presents the tree as a material body with inner and outer surfaces. Lagorio studies cracks and irregularities with the attention we might associate with portraiture. The tree’s age becomes visible through the structure of its damage.

An upper branch crosses diagonally, connecting several substantial trunks. Our eye follows its irregular construction like a natural system of supports. With no broad horizon, we seem to stand inside the undergrowth. The close viewpoint asks us to examine a small area’s structure rather than scan a picturesque landscape.

The living trunk on the right continues beyond the upper edge, establishing that the tree exceeds the image. Academic landscapes often arranged nature into a complete view; this fragment preserves a sense of continuation. Lagorio suggests the forest’s closeness and height while showing only a limited portion of its space.

Small leaves at the base are handled differently from rough timber. Short pale strokes describe foliage; larger, elongated marks follow the trunk. The brush movement changes with the material. These variations sustain the study at close range. Detail emerges through varied handling suited to the structure of each plant.

A stone lies among the roots, and the earth shares the warm colour of exposed wood. Colour relationships connect separate objects into a single natural setting. The museum account notes Lagorio’s preference for preserving such outdoor studies without studio reworking, retaining the harmony of colours found under shared illumination.

In 1860 Lagorio’s Italian views earned him a professorship in landscape painting. An Old Tree reveals the observation behind that professional reputation. It offers a different scale of attention from a spectacular panorama. Damage, roughness and tangled growth become sufficient subjects for sustained work and close viewing.