The Golden Olive Branch

About this work

A single olive branch enters the picture from the lower centre and reaches up and to the left. Its leaves are long and narrow, most of them a deep olive green with lighter undersides, painted with fine, confident strokes. Here and there a leaf has been laid in gold leaf, its surface slightly crumpled so it catches light unevenly. Near the middle of the branch hang three round olives, all of them gilded, glowing warmer than anything else in the picture. Behind them floats a large, faint circle of pale gold, like a low sun seen through haze. The rest is warm cream paper with a soft, fibrous texture and plenty of empty space above and below.

Few plants carry as much meaning as the olive. In ancient Greece an olive wreath crowned the winners at Olympia, and a branch held out in the hand has meant peace for more than two thousand years. Olive trees can live for many centuries, and around the Mediterranean families still harvest from trees planted by distant ancestors. Pairing that southern plant with Japanese gold leaf and generous empty space is a very current idea: designers call it Japandi meets Mediterranean, a style of pale walls, natural wood, linen and a few living branches. The golden circle adds a quiet focus, the way a full moon or a sun disc does on old Japanese screens.

It feels at home in a kitchen or dining room, where olives belong, and equally calm above a sofa. White, cream, olive green and soft terracotta walls all suit it. Choose a natural oak or walnut frame for warmth, or a thin brass frame to pick up the gold olives. Hang it at eye level so the branch reads as a gesture rather than a pattern. For a trio, combine it with Olive Branch under a Gold Moon and The Ancient Olive Tree. The file is large enough for sharp prints up to roughly 91 cm long at 300 dpi.