In a developed society, natural landscape attains a special value. So much so, that green belt sites, under threat of development, will cause locals to rise up in opposition to any development.
These belts were initially intended to stop urban sprawl. The question is, what does natural landscape look like?
The landed gentry, when building their mansions from the mid sixteenth century onwards often “altered” their surroundings to look more “natural”. For example many employed Capability Brown and others, to literally “move mountains”, alter the course of rivers and excavate lakes to make the view from the home more “natural”. In these cases, nature itself wasn’t good enough.
So, when you look at a landscape, are you looking at nature in the raw, or some artificial concoction intended to be an improvement?
In fact, it can be quite difficult to find a landscape which has not been made by human intervention.
Looking at the coast might be your best bet to find nature untouched.
The Lion Rock Broadhaven Pembrokeshire
Hugh Bennett
HorizonThe reality is that landscapes often need a figure or a man-made structure to give the image scale.
Cloud inversion
Aggie Matyjaszek
But if it’s nature in the raw, artists find inspiration in that as well.
Winter Blues - Snowdon & Garnedd Ugain
D J
Landscapes can be calming, reassuring, majestic or just plain beautiful.