unknown - An Evil Tree or the Natural Heart - n.d. - T-Shirt

An allegorical tree, hung with round medallions and set against a burning hillside, carries a moral warning in this hand-coloured lithograph.

Visual Elements & Composition

The design is built as a vertical framed print, with a bare tree rising through the centre. Its branches bear fruit-like medallions, each carrying a label, and the title AN EVIL TREE OR THE NATURAL HEART runs across the top. The palette is earthy: kraft tan dominates the field, with bark brown in the trunk and stump, grass green at the base, and pale gold and flame orange picking out the burning slope. A bird in flight crosses the open sky, and distant mountains sit at the horizon.

Meaning & Symbolism

The medallions are inscribed with the vices of the moral tradition: Wrath, Unbelief, Pride of Life, Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, Self-Love, Murder, Theft and Envy. The tree becomes a moral emblem, a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds in the manner of older folk and religious imagery. The work reflects the nineteenth-century tract tradition, when art taught moral instruction and projected human sins onto the landscape. Its 1840s origin places it among the instructional prints of that period, where natural observation served philosophical and religious argument.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A tee is worn close to the body and seen from every angle, so the design is read as you move through the day. The vertical composition suits the front of a shirt, letting the framed tree sit centred on the chest, with its medallions reading as you look down at it.