17 – The Forest in Nivernais – Last sun rays in high forest
15 November 2018
The seventeenth postcard of the series “The Forest in Nivernais” depicts two men leaning against a hundred-year-old oak in the Forest of Bertranges. A travel view camera is laid in front of one of the two men enjoying the very last rays of autumn sunshine suitable for taking photographs.
The seventeenth postcard of the series “The Forest in Nivernais” depicts two men leaning against a hundred-year-old oak in the Forest of Bertranges. A travel view camera is laid in front of one of the two men enjoying the very last rays of autumn sunshine suitable for taking photographs.
This photograph, taken at the turn of the 20th century, reflects the former Forest of Bertranges coppice with standard exploitation (except the reserve corresponding to the quarter of the forest). As a matter of fact, the decree of 15 may 1886 submitted the Forest of Bertranges to a high forest plan. This forest plot could have been put in ageing by the end of the 19th century.
Achille Millien complements the postcard with verses of poetry about the beauty and the stillness prevailing in this autumnal landscape: “Calme et silence. – Au bois où le soleil expire, / Où la feuille qui tombe a des tons de brocart, / Ce rayon de l’automne est comme le sourire / Qui, doux et bon, s’éclaire aux lèvres d’un vieillard.”
