L’Homme qui plantait des arbres
One of 99 copies on BFK Rives paper, with a lithograph signed and justified by the artist, this copy no. 86.
Among Giono’s most celebrated stories, L’Homme qui plantait des arbres (The Man Who Planted Trees) occupies a singular place: written in 1953 at the request of an American publication, initially intended for the Reader’s Digest and finally published in English in Vogue in 1954, Giono himself later provided the key to the text, explaining that his aim was “to make people love planting trees” — an admirable formula that captures both the apparent simplicity of the story and its deeper ambition, embodied in the unforgettable figure of Elzéard Bouffier, a fictional shepherd who has become an almost legendary character. An ecological parable avant la lettre, the text was translated very early into numerous languages and remains one of the most widely read and disseminated works of children’s literature. It is also a meditation on patience and silent perseverance.
Éditions Gallimard’s choice of Eva Jospin for an illustrated edition proves particularly apt: her work repeatedly explores forests, landscapes, caves and the entanglement of vegetation, giving rise to silent, meditative worlds that, when brought into dialogue with Giono’s text, extend its imaginative reach.