Youth and age - the timeless theme

There's a BC wildflower called Youth-on-Age, so named for its characteristic growth pattern.  The ones  blooming in my garden now derive from a tiny plant judiciously collected from a vast growth at the base of UBC's Point Grey cliffs -- forty years ago this month!  As my enduring and unequalled identification guide explains it:

"...examine the leaves in the late summer and you will see that the reason for the odd name is that small leaves are growing from the base of the old leaf blades.  As the old leaves wither they slowly drop to the ground, giving the new leaves a chance to root."

                  - C. P. Lyons, Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in British Columbia

 A sort of phoenix plant, you might conclude.

In mid-March when it scarcely seemed likely we'd see ANY abundant spring growth this year (so cold! so rainy!), the timeless theme was on my mind as I developed a "Youth and Age" diptych for Degas Week in my on-line course.  (True confessions:  I started a week early and spent two weeks in total).

Degas, one of my all-time favourites, began painting self-portraits at an early age -- always with eyes like deep pools which apparently characterized the Degas clan.  I chose to emulate this one for the simplicity of its tones:

 By happy accident,  my internet image search turned up a "Portrait of the Painter Degas" by Maurice Denis.  He's another early 20^th century artist whose name I knew -- but with whom I had no resonance.  Now I do!  I fell in love with his austerely toned picture of an elderly Degas.

I worked on the two in parallel under the heading "Youth and Age"...

...with a somewhat successful outcome.  (You can view the brief sequence of development here).

Here's my version of Degas' "Self-portrait in a Soft Hat":

My version of Denis' portrait of Degas:

Let's think of the new spring plants that emerged from young leaves growing at the base of the old ones -- 

 

-- how life keeps putting down new growth; how the old nourishes the young; how after decades -- even across centuries, even across cultures -- art students are still inspired by the thrilling vitality conveyed in a masterwork of art.