nature

Nature is a theme that is very present in art. We need only think of depictions of animals made in prehistoric times, agricultural scenes on Egyptian frescoes, the landscape paintings produced since the Renaissance or, more recently, works of Land Art, to realize how pervasive the subject is. Nature has long been viewed as a model to be imitated, and observations of it have satisfied a desire for knowledge. Representations of nature therefore reflect the general state of knowledge, so much so that the role artists play in familiarizing people with discoveries is comparable to that which philosophers and researchers in the natural sciences have performed from Antiquity to the present day.