“As I grew older, I realized that it was much better to insist on the genuine forms of nature, for simplicity is the greatest adornment of art.” — Albrecht Dürer
I came upon this quote courtesy of the acrostic puzzles I frequently solve online. I shy away from any absolutes such as “the greatest,” but Dürer’s thought is a good companion for this particular project of drawing a different leaf every day. Immersion in natural beauty is definitely good for my spirit as well as my relationship with other living things. Whether it is simplicity that I’m encountering, I’m not sure. Leaves are stunningly complex, and the complexity is one source of their beauty. But one could also say truly that there is something very simple about them, and there is definitely a simplicity to an art practice that seeks only to reflect what is in nature.
Sermons in Stones 
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May 1, 2022 at 8:00 pm
Erp
So what leaves on Durer’s trees? I note they are different for the trees next to Adam and Eve. The Met has Mountain Ash by Adam and Fig by Eve. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/336222
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May 1, 2022 at 9:28 pm
Amy Zucker Morgenstern
I don’t know, but considering how everything in this print has at least one level of figurative meaning along with the literal one, I bet the lore about mountain ash and fig fit with the story of the Fall somehow. I wonder if the convention that Adam and Eve used fig leaves when they were ashamed dates back to this piece. Or maybe it’s just that they are large enough to be plausible. Just try to cover yourself with aspen leaves. 😀
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