In choosing a tree as the subject matter of this lush oil painting, Emile Gruppe recognized the extraordinary beauty we can find in nature. He chose a tree specimen that has an architectural substance and primeval structure that could shelter us in its limbs.

Gruppe encourages the viewer to delight in the movement of his brush and the sensuous strokes of the paint. He manages to use a full spectrum of color in his rendition of the tree. He pulls us up the skin and into the web of branches that spreads out in all directions. Sunlight dapples the smooth light bark that he shadows with hot tones of red indicating the heat of the sun above the tall canopy of the cool verdant leaves. The clear blue sky provides the perfect foil for the density of the thick greenery.

Although he was an American, and a sometime resident of Naples, Gruppe was a student of the Paris school of impressionists. From their work he acquired a love of color and light and an approach to painting that conveys the vitality of nature.

Emile Gruppe's work can be seen at DeBruyne Fine Art, 275 Broad Ave. S., Naples; 262-4551.

-Mark Ormond

Mark Ormond is a Southwest Florida art curator and consultant.