Pine Tree

About the Artwork

Segantini painted this view of a pine tree in the Swiss Alps with his distinctive combination of brilliant colors applied in small, broken strokes. Rather than a direct transcription of nature, the extreme close-up view and the flat, decorative space are designed to arouse an emotional response. Finding spiritual consolation in the lush forests and clear light around his home in the Alps, Segantini wrote: “I am now working passionately to wrest the secret of Nature’s spirit from her. Nature utters the eternal word to the artist: love, love; and the earth sings life in spring, and the soul of things reawakens.”

Provenance

Until 1907: (Galleria Alberto Grubicy, Milan) Probably until 1939: Oscar Bernhard [1861-1939], Samaden/St. Moritz, probably by descent to his daughter, Annigna Petitpierre-Bernhard Probably 1939-at least 1973: Annigna Petitpierre-Bernhard [1899-1978], Zurich Until 1982: (Galerie Nathan, Zurich, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1982-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

Exhibition history

The Year in Review for 1982. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 5-February 6, 1983). Giovanni Segantini. Kunsthaus Zürich, CH-8024 Zürich, Switzerland (organizer) (November 8, 1990-February 17, 1991). Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Beijing World Art Museum (May 26-August 27, 2006); Mori Art Center (September 16-November 26, 2006); Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (June 9-September 16, 2007); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 15-June 1, 2008); Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT (June 22-September 21, 2008); The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 12, 2008-January 18, 2009). Giovanni Segantini. Fondation Beyeler, CH-4125 Riehen/Basel, Switzerland (organizer) (January 16-April 25, 2011). Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).

Quick Overview

Artist: Giovanni Segantini (Italian, 1858–1899)
Date: c. 1897
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Framed: 149.5 x 84.8 x 4.1 cm (58 7/8 x 33 3/8 x 1 5/8 in.); Unframed: 135.2 x 72 cm (53 1/4 x 28 3/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession no.: 1982.124

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.