The forest in art – from romantic imagery to contemporary engagement

Location : Henri Beck Auditorium (entrance : 2, rue Genistre)

The Cercle Cité invites the public to explore the theme of the forest, from its romantic imaginary to its contemporary stakes, alongside Stéphanie Breydel de Groeninghe, art historian, art advisor, and co-founder of Ts’ART.

How have artists, from past to present, engaged with the theme of the forest and the tree? Romantic representation, ecological manifesto, symbolic space, experimental ground... The forest, and more broadly, the tree, runs through the history of art, bearing shifting and layered meanings.

In this lecture, we journey through the centuries to explore the forms, meanings, and commitments nestled within artistic representations of the forest. From Théodore Rousseau, a figure of landscape realism, to Joseph Beuys, who transforms the tree into a political gesture, and on to Ai Weiwei, Rosemary Laing, and the immersive practices of contemporary art, we will discover how the forest becomes at once subject, symbol, and artistic material.

As the lecture unfolds, it becomes clear that the forest in art is not merely a depiction of the surrounding natural world. It is also a mirror of the cultural, political, and environmental concerns of each era. Through key artworks, we will shed light on the evolving perspectives toward this living space, between poetic solitude and ecological solidarity.

Free entry, registration required on cerclecite.lu

Lecture as part of the La forêt. Solitudes et solidarités. (The Forest. Solitudes and Solidarities.) exhibition.