I have such many things to do that I have completely forgotten to write something about my personal project on the illustrations for The man who planted trees by Jean Giono! It took me almost 5 months and 2 weeks to finish it (just in time for my admission test in Urbino).
After reading Jean Giono’s book The man who planted trees (1953), I decided to create a series of digital illustrations of the story. In particular, I intentionally masked the protagonist’s features, because I wanted to give the impression that anyone, with a strong will and patience, could do a similar masterpiece. In my interpretation of the text, I especially focused on the following expression (which is also the most known quotation from the book) and its effective meaning:
«When I reflect that one man, armed only with his own physical and moral resources, was able to cause this land of Canaan to spring from the wasteland, I am convinced that in spite of everything, humanity is admirable.»
[cit. Jean Giono, The man who planted trees, 1953]
The man who planted trees
2016
digital painting
various sizes
