Landscape. Landscape art portrays scenery from the natural world. Rural landscapes depict the countryside, often with farms, fields, and villages, these can be peaceful and idyllic or capture the working aspects of rural life. Wooded landscapes have been a source of fascination for artists. Forests can be portrayed as lush and inviting, or mysterious and even menacing. The Hudson River School painters frequently included grand forests in their works. Cityscapes capture the urban environment, with buildings, streets, and people, they can be bustling and energetic, or focus on the quieter aspects of city life. Canaletto was a prominent Venetian painter known for his detailed cityscapes. Pastoral landscapes focus on idyllic scenes of shepherds tending their flocks in peaceful settings. A river landscape showcases a river as its centerpiece, along with the surrounding environment and the possibility of boats or people on the water. Desert landscapes portray arid regions with dramatic rock formations, cacti, and sparse vegetation. Atmospheric landscapes focus on the effects of weather and light on a scene, rather than specific details of the landscape itself. Some landscapes depict scenes from mythology or religion, often featuring gods, goddesses, or fantastical creatures placed within natural settings. Landscape painting is a genre of fine art that depicts natural scenery, such as mountains, valleys, forests, rivers, and seas. During the Renaissance, landscape painting emerged as a way to depict the natural world in a more realistic and detailed manner. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer were among the first to create detailed landscapes as the background for their religious and mythological scenes. In the 17th century, Dutch artists such as Jacob van Ruisdael further developed the genre, creating landscapes as the primary focus of their works. These artists often depicted the rural countryside and everyday life, reflecting the growing interest in nature and the natural world. During the 18th and 19th centuries, landscape painting became increasingly popular in Europe and America. Artists such as J.M.W. Turner, John Constable, and Thomas Cole created dramatic and romanticized depictions of the natural world, often using light and color to convey emotion and mood. In the 20th century, landscape painting continued to evolve, with artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe, David Hockney, and Anselm Kiefer exploring new styles and techniques. Today, landscape painting remains a popular and diverse genre, with artists using a wide range of approaches to depict the natural world. Landscape painting has significance beyond its aesthetic value. It has been used to document and celebrate the beauty of the natural world, as well as to raise awareness about environmental issues and the impact of human activity on the environment. Landscape painting has also been used to express cultural and national identity, as well as to explore the relationship between humans and the natural world. 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. The two main traditions spring from Western painting and Chinese art, going back well over a thousand years in both cases. The recognition of a spiritual element in landscape art is present from its beginnings in East Asian art, drawing on Daoism and other philosophical traditions, but in the West only becomes explicit with Romanticism.