A Jules Renard’s trees family
29 April 2021
Passionate observer of nature, Jules Renard (1864-1910) pays homage to it by publishing at the end of the 19th century hisHistoires naturelles in which he paints, with humor and poetry, a portrait of the fauna and flora surrounding him. The work, which inspires renowned illustrators such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, or Benjamin Rabier, is republished several times.
Jules Renard notably paints in hisHistoires naturelles the portrait of UA Family of Trees whose narrator learns their codes to blend in and be adopted:
« “It is after crossing a sun-scorched plain that I meet them.
They do not dwell at the edge of the road, because of the noise. They live in the uncultivated fields, on a spring known only to the birds.
From afar, they seem impenetrable. As soon as I approach, their trunks loosen. Ils m’accueillent avec prudence. They welcome me cautiously. I can rest, refresh myself, but I sense that they observe me and are wary.
They live as a family, the oldest in the middle and the young ones, those whose first leaves have just been born, scattered a little everywhere, without ever straying.
They take a long time to die, and they keep the dead standing until they fall into dust.
They caress each other with their long branches, to ensure they are all there, like the blind. They gesture with anger if the wind exhausts itself trying to uproot them. But among them, no quarrels. They murmur only in agreement.
I feel they must be my true family. I will quickly forget the other. These trees will gradually adopt me, and to deserve it I learn what must be known:
JI already know how to watch the passing clouds.
I also know how to stay still.
And I almost know how to be silent. »
In another of hisHistoires naturelles, Jules Renard describes the day of Image Hunte whose « eyes serve as nets where images imprison themselves.s. »During his wanderings, the man enters a wood and finds himself in perfect communion with it But the experience is so intense that he must leave the wood: « for him to communicate with the trees, his nerves connect to the veins of the leaves.
Soon, vibrating to the point of discomfort, he perceives too much, he ferments, he becomes afraid, and leaves the wood.” ».
This desire for communion with Nature – the discomfort excepted – is sought after by many today, as evidenced by the success in recent years of forest therapy or “shinrin yoku”.These practices being part of a broader trend toward greater naturalness and greater symbiosis between Humans and Nature.
Visual 1: Illustration of the cover of Histoires naturelles by Jules Renard by Benjamin Rabier © D.R.
Visual 2 : © Christophe Deschanel
