Olive Trees

Jacques Berthet

ISBN 10: 8836645836 / ISBN 13: 9788836645831

Published by Silvana, IT, 2021

About this Item

Back-lit in the morning, the olive tree differs greatly in appearance from in the afternoon or at sunset, each time offering new perspectives as well as new photographic collections. Jacques Berthet has long been interested in the olive tree. The idea of studying them came to him during a photography project which took Berthet all around the Mediterranean: from the Alentejo region in Portugal to the Pleistos Valley at Delphi, passing through Kabylia, Tunisia, to the Middle East, in Israel and the West Bank. In his photography, Berthet opts for black and white to distance himself from botany and move closer towards sculpture or drawing, opting for backlighting to single out the chosen tree against the backdrop of the olive grove which remains bathed in light.The olive tree has remained a significant influence in the everyday life of cultures around the Mediterranean. In ancient poetry and writing, it is the most venerated of trees. The Greeks made it a sacred tree (particularly for its oil, used in lamps), and so have the people of Tunisia and Algeria in more recent times. In Islamic cultures, it is the cosmic tree, the centre and the pillar of the world, symbolising universal man. What sets the olive tree apart from many other species is that no two trees look alike, and its fate is closely linked with that of man.Text in English and French.

Seller Inventory # LU-9788836645831

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Olive Trees
• Publisher: Silvana, IT
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 8836645836
• ISBN 13: 9788836645831
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 1352 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The Swiss photographer discovers a sculptural side to the olive trees that grow throughout the Mediterranean

Swiss photographer Jacques Berthet (born 1949) has long been interested in the olive tree for its botanical beauty and symbolic significance in a variety of cultures both ancient and modern. However, Berthet has remarked that he did not truly discover the real aesthetic possibilities of the olive tree until he visited Spain and decided to embark on a photography project documenting olive groves across the Mediterranean: from the Alentejo region in Portugal to the Pleistos Valley at Delphi, passing through Kabylia, Tunisia, to the Middle East, in Israel and the West Bank.

The olive plants in Berthet’s series appear not as horticultural specimens but as sculptures crafted by farmers in collaboration with nature. In each photograph, Berthet frames a single tree against the backdrop of the greater grove in which it is situated, creating an illustrative effect through the backlighting and black-and-white treatment.