Mistletoe in Gold

About this work

Because the sprig hangs downward, the picture is read from top to bottom: from the little gold tie, along the olive stem, through the forked branches and down to a single leaf at the tip. Small gold joints mark each fork, so the structure of the plant becomes a quiet golden scaffold. Around thirty pearl-white berries sit in small clusters along the stems, and against the near-black blue they glow softly, like tiny moons. The narrow, paddle-shaped leaves are pale olive and soft gold, each outlined in gold and traced with fine engraved veins. Colour is kept cool and sparse on purpose, so the berries and the gilding carry all the light. Close up, the veins and outlines show the patience of an engraver's hand; from further away, the whole sprig turns into a slender, tapering shape, still and elegant.

Mistletoe is a hemiparasite. It makes its own sugars from sunlight like any green plant, but it has no roots in the soil; instead it grows a specialised organ into the branches of its host and draws water and minerals from the tree. In Europe it is found most often on apple, poplar, lime and hawthorn, and its sticky berries are spread by birds, which leave the seeds glued to bark. Kissing beneath a hanging bunch became a Christmas custom in England during the 18th and 19th centuries. Charles Dickens describes it in The Pickwick Papers (1836–37), where the guests at Dingley Dell gather under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve and the old custom is cheerfully observed.

Hung near a front door or above a hall console, it greets winter visitors in the spirit of that old custom, and because the palette is blue, white and gold rather than red and green, it stays at home long after Christmas. Navy, deep teal, pale grey and white walls bring out the berries. A thin gold or black frame suits it, and a white mat gives the dark ground room to breathe. The Golden Holly makes a natural partner, while the horizontal Mistletoe Branches in Gold extends the theme to a wider wall or a TV. Printed from the 7168 × 10752 px file, it stays sharp to about 60 × 90 cm. A Frame TV version with a gallery mat is included.