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Announcer: This is
a Getty podcast.

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[Rising, meditative music]

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Lilit Sadoyan: Today we’re
exploring trees in Théodore

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Rousseau’s mid-19th-century
painting, Forest of

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Fontainebleau, Cluster
of Tall Trees Overlooking

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the Plain of Clair-Bois
at the Edge of Bas-Bréau.

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[Theme music begins]

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Hi—I’m Lilit Sadoyan.

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I’m a longtime meditation
practitioner and museum

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educator at Getty.

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Thanks for joining me
as we bring mindfulness

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out of the gallery and
into our daily lives.

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Today, we’re discovering how
to feel rooted and present

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like trees through Théodore
Rousseau’s landscape painting

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of the forest of Fontainebleau.

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This episode begins with a
breathing exercise to help

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relax your body and mind.

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We’ll then give a bit of
history and context for the

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painting, and we’ll close with
a grounding tree meditation.

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This series is also available
as an audio podcast.

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If you’d like to step away
from a screen for a few

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minutes, listen on your
favorite podcast app.

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Now, if you’re
ready, let’s jump in.

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[Gong chimes]

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[Slow, meditative music begins]

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I invite you to close
your eyes if that feels

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right for you today.

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Let’s just begin by taking
a few deep breaths together.

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In through your nose.
[inhales]

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Out through your mouth.
[exhales]

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Deep inhale.

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Deep exhale.

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One more deep breath in.
[inhales]

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And a deep breath out.
[exhales]

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And just let your breathing
resume its natural rhythm.

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Whenever you’re ready,
gently open your eyes.

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[Bells chime]

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What does it mean for an artist
to know a place intimately?

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And what does it mean when that
place is wild, untamed nature?

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In the painting Forest of
Fontainebleau, Cluster of

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Tall Trees Overlooking the
Plain of Clair-Bois at the

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Edge of Bas-Bréau, French
artist Théodore Rousseau

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captured an edge of the
forest near his house.

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Try to picture the
painting in your mind.

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This painting is dense
with subject matter, but

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still fresh and lively.

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I can almost smell the
earthiness of the forest.

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Some areas, such as the
foreground of damp earth,

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are loosely painted,
almost suggested.

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Ghostly boulders and broken
branches are scattered across

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the forest floor towards the
bottom of the composition.

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But the focus gathers
around three trees at the

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center left of the painting.

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In the middle of the
grouping is a great live oak.

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Its trunk anchors the
scene while its branches

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unfurled in sinuous forms,
spreading in all directions.

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This majestic oak, with its
gnarled branches twisting

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and coiling, must have held
the artist in quiet study.

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Two dead trees flank
this central oak, like

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sharp counterpoints.

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The one to the far left
of the painting diagonally

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points up and out of the
frame, its splintered

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trunk reflecting light.

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The one to the right tilts
up to the sky, and its trunk,

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speckled with rich greens,
seems to get lost in the

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foliage of the central oak.

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Only upon closer inspection
does one see that the top of

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the trunk near the top edge of
the painting is also fractured.

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The contrast between the living
and dead trees side by side

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evokes the cycle of life.

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The canopy of leaves covers
three quarters of the painting.

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It’s rendered in a wide range
of greens, from dark forest

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greens and rich shades of
emerald to yellowish olive hues

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and undertones of umber brown.

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To the upper right, however,
a patch of gray sky hints

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at the cloudy weather.

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While closer to the horizon
line, which sits about a third

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of the way up the canvas,
clouds break open to let

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the sunlight shine through.

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Just beneath this area in
the right foreground, barely

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visible, are a single herdsman
and a group of cattle coming

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around the bend and making
their way to a body of water.

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The bright, opaque
reflection of the pond opens

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up the dark foreground.

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The still water reflects the
light, clouds, and even a

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couple of cows that have entered
the pond to drink some water.

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The diminutive size of
the cows imbues the trees,

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the real protagonists,
with even more grandeur.

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Théodore Rousseau was dedicated
to painting the French

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landscape, returning again
and again to the forest of

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Fontainebleau as a primary
source of inspiration.

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He grounded his practice in
empirical observation and

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close engagement with nature.

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Beginning in 1836, he spent his
summers drawing and painting

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in the French countryside.

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He would retreat to Paris
in the winter months.

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By 1847, he bought a house in
the small town of Barbizon, just

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at the edge of the forest of
Fontainebleau, and he remained

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there for the rest of his life.

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Rousseau’s work suggests a
longing for the slow way of

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life he associated with rural
existence, at odds with the

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modern changes of his time.

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He was deeply drawn to the
strength and quiet steadfastness

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of ancient trees, producing
hundreds of sketches in

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oil, pencil, and crayon.

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The endurance of trees
could be interpreted as an

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expression of resilience.

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Rousseau worked
outdoors incessantly.

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Going against the standard
training at the time,

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he grounded his artistic
practice in a close engagement

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with the natural world.

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He painted and sketched directly
from nature, en plein air,

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or in the open air, that is.

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He wasn’t simply
gathering material for

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his studio paintings.

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Rather, his practice
carried meaning.

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To draw or paint before a
tree, or along the forest edge,

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was to enter into sustained
attention: to stand, to look,

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to tune the senses, to breathe
alongside the trees, and to

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remain long enough for the
trees to reveal themselves, a

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kind of aesthetic meditation.

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In this painting, the physical
presence of the artist

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outdoors is felt through the
immediacy of his brushwork.

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The freedom of the handling
of paint complicates

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how we understand this
painting, whether it’s

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a sketched or a finished
work of art, or somewhere

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in between, an ébauche.

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He would have started
this painting outdoors and

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enhanced it in his studio.

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Rousseau was experimental
in his process.

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Brushstrokes of varying width
and texture rhythmically

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cover the canvas.

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The surface is
alive with movement.

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Long before environmentalism
had a name, Rousseau’s work

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reflected what has been
termed ecological awareness,

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the growing realization
that humanity does not

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stand apart from the natural
world, but moves within

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as living co-presence.

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We are not outside the
landscape, we belong to it.

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And with this in mind,
practicing a grounding

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tree meditation helps us
feel not only connected

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to our environment, but
also centered and rooted

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in the present moment.

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[Meditative music continues]

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If you feel comfortable,
I invite you to close your

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eyes, and if you would
prefer to keep your eyes

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open, that’s okay, too.

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Try to lower your gaze,
lower your lids to minimize

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visual distraction.

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Use this time to go inward.

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And adopt a posture in
your body that feels

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both relaxed yet alert.

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Sense into ease and comfort.

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Let’s begin again with
a few deep breaths,

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grounding with each exhale.

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So, breath in.
[inhales]

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And a breath out.
[exhales]

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Take a deep breath in.
[inhales]

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And a deep breath out.
[exhales]

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One more inhale.
[exhales]

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And exhale. 
[exhales]

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Now just let your breathing
resume its natural rhythm.

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No need to force or
extend anything here.

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Just let your body do what
it does very naturally.

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Allow your body
to breathe itself.

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And I invite you to cultivate an
awareness of your breath here.

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Noticing the way in
which the breath moves

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in and out of the body.

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Notice your breath
around your nostrils.

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Notice your breath
around your chest.

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Notice your breath
in your belly,

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soft and present.

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And if your mind starts
to wander, know that

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that’s completely natural.

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Your brain is doing its job.

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There’s no need to stop the
thoughts or clear the mind.

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Rather, just notice those
thoughts as they arise,

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and gently let them go and
come back to your breath.

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Use your breath as your anchor.

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[Silence]

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Trees embody such
strength and grace.

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Let’s explore what it feels
like to be one of the trees

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in Rousseau’s painting.

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Sense into the surface
upon which you are

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seated or standing.

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Feel yourself
firmly planted here.

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Notice where your body makes
contact with a surface.

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Feel the support of
the earth beneath you.

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Feel your weight here
and sense gravity.

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Be where your feet are.

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And imagine that your
torso is like the trunk

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of a tree, upright

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with poise,

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standing still.

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Imagine that your arms are
like branches and that your

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fingers are like leaves.

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[Silence]

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Gently lift the crown of
your head up to the sky,

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gathering the sunshine.

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Notice the difference
between the upward lift

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and the downward pull.

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With each breath,

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lifting and rooting.

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Inhale, lift.

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Exhale, root.

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You can imagine that
your branches also

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reach for the light.

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Inhale, reaching.

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Exhale, rooting.

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Inhale, reaching.

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Exhale, rooting.

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Sense into the strength and
grace of the tree within you.

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Be the tree.

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Feel the weight of your body.

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Feel your roots extending down
beneath the earth’s surface.

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And notice where your roots
make contact with other roots.

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Your root system connecting
with other trees.

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Giving and receiving.

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Feel the reciprocity
that exists just beneath

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the Earth’s surface.

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See yourself in this
network of connection,

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a tree among other trees.

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Standing independent,
yet interconnected,

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coexisting with
life all around you.

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And if your eyes are closed,
I invite you to gently

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open them, coming back into
the space that you’re in,

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bringing your awareness
to your environment.

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Maybe there are some gentle
movements or stretches

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that your body needs now.

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And keeping this imagery
of the tree in mind, as we

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return to the world, let’s
carry this sense of presence

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and connection with us.

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And I want to see if we can
find different opportunities

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to come into contact with
trees throughout our day.

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Notice their shape.

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Pay attention to the colors and
textures, the way that the light

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hits them, or how they grow.

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Try to come into physical
contact with a tree.

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It’s good for you.

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Proven benefits of doing so
include the release of feel-good

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hormones like oxytocin,
serotonin, and dopamine,

253
00:16:39,389 --> 00:16:43,169
so it will lower stress
and increase calm and help

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00:16:43,169 --> 00:16:44,729
regulate your nervous system.

255
00:16:45,869 --> 00:16:47,489
Why not even hug a tree today?

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00:16:49,439 --> 00:16:53,500
Use it as a reminder to be
in the present moment and

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notice how it makes you feel.

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00:16:57,129 --> 00:17:00,929
Let’s close our practice today
by returning to the breath with

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00:17:00,940 --> 00:17:03,640
one more full, deep inhale.

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00:17:06,129 --> 00:17:08,220
And sigh it out.
[exhales] 

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00:17:08,220 --> 00:17:11,889
Thank you so
much for joining me.

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00:17:21,869 --> 00:17:41,089
[Meditative music
slowly fades out]