What does it look like?

It is a drawing and painting in ink and watercolours, of an apple tree leaning over a lane leading down to a church. There is a shepherdess in the foreground and in the background, an intense golden field, under a dark sky.

Who, what and where?

It was painted by Samuel Palmer (1805-1881). He was a visionary painter, who believed that through prayer and meditation Christians could see the world still bathed in glory, as God sees it, as though we were still in Eden. He wanted to share that vision of glory in the world through this painting.

Palmer was part of a group of fellow artists, who called themselves ‘The Ancients’. They were united in their admiration for the poet and artist William Blake (1757 – 1827). Their watchwords were ‘poetry and sentiment‘. Palmer’s Magic Apple Tree, with its intense colours, religious overtones, and almost mystical evocation of nature, is in many ways typical of The Ancients’ work.

Why is it significant to the study of religion?

Many other artists have been inspired by religion. In 2016, a London exhibition explored the Stations of the Cross, demonstrating the influence of this part of the bible on artists, over a number of centuries.

This is not a religious object, or a painting of a religious subject, but it is intended to have a religious, or spiritual effect, to make people see the world in a new light.

Malcolm Guite wrote a poem about the piece, and this can be read on his website.