Upon closer inspection, depicts the view looking up through tree branches at the sky.
Viewer’s Perspective:
Emphasizes an unusual point of view, looking up as if lying on the grass.
Evokes a sense of inhabiting the artist’s eyes.
Interpretive Elements
Emotion and Time:
The painting conveys a feeling of time passing and the brevity of human life.
The unusual perspective contributes to a sense of poignancy and momentariness.
Sensory Experience:
The viewer might feel the nighttime atmosphere and smell the pine.
Spatial and Temporal Dynamics
Eye Movement:
Eye travels up the tree trunk, following the path to the sky.
The spatial flow integrates the immediate presence of the tree with the infinite sky.
Scale and Perspective:
Radical scale changes convey both spatial depth and temporal continuity.
Emphasizes human minuteness in the vast celestial space.
Context and Background
Location of Painting:
Created at D.H. Lawrence's ranch during O'Keeffe's first summer in New Mexico.
Artist's Interaction with the Environment:
O'Keeffe mentioned lying on a carpenter’s bench at the tree’s base.
Presentation and Display
Hanging Orientation:
O'Keeffe suggested the painting could be hung in any direction.
The museum displays it in a way that implies the tree standing on its head, preferred by O'Keeffe.
Conclusion
The integration of organic form, perspective, and the interplay of earth and sky encapsulates both the finite and the infinite, offering a profound reflection on space, time, and human experience.