ART (OTHER FORMS) > LANDSCAPE

Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of landscapes in art—nature or city- such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works, landscape backgrounds for figures can still form an important part of the work. Sky is almost always included in the view, and weather is often an element of the composition. Detailed landscapes as a distinct subject are not found in all artistic traditions, and develop when there is already a sophisticated tradition of representing other subjects. Combining both their physical origins and the cultural overlay of human presence, often created over millennia, landscape paintings reflect a living synthesis of people and place that is vital to local and national identity. It is the dynamic backdrop to people's lives. Landscape can be as varied as farmland, a landscape park or wilderness. Landscape painting can be an abstract style or in a figurative style and may be entirely imaginary, or copied from reality with varying degrees of accuracy. It may depict an actual, specific place, especially including buildings prominently.