From ancient times to the present day, Western artists have interpreted nature in a variety of ways and reflected it in their works of art. In doing so, their perceptions and approaches to nature have changed over time and through different schools of thought, from classicism, romanticism, modernism, and contemporary ecological art.
Throughout the ages, from ancient to modern times, Western artists have created works of art based on “nature,” which includes not only landscapes such as mountains, rivers, and oceans, but also individual animals, plants, the human body, and the natural order of things. In the West, several schools of thought and art theories have emerged that relate to the different ways artists have viewed nature. These schools of thought have evolved to not just depict nature, but to interpret it according to the philosophical ideas and time periods of the artists.
Classicism and Romanticism are the two main schools of thought that have been practiced from the Greek era to the first half of the 19th century. Both schools of thought were concerned with the imitation of nature, but they differed in the purpose and method of imitating nature, as well as the type of nature they sought to imitate. The central theory of classicism is the imitation of the beautiful, and the main object of imitation for the classicists was the nature within us, the human body. They believed that through imitation of nature, we can ultimately reach an aesthetic ideal. However, they did not imitate nature as it is; they believed that all nature is both beautiful and flawed, so they tried to imitate the beautiful parts and correct the flawed parts to create an idealized version of beauty. This classicist approach was based on an anthropocentric view of nature, with a strong tendency to idealize nature and reshape it through the human gaze.
It wasn’t until the Romantic era, which began in the 18th century, that nature, or landscape, overtook humans as the primary object of imitation in art. Romantics perceived nature as primal, powerful, and perfect, while humans were dwarfed by it. Romantics were even afraid of nature overwhelming human power. Rather than imitating nature as it is, they wanted to emphasize its greatness, so they depicted it as dynamic, as if it were alive. They particularly emphasized human emotion and imagination, and sought to express through art the awe that humans felt in the face of nature’s rugged beauty. This trend contrasted with the classicist view of nature and led to a rethinking of nature as a huge entity outside of human control.
By the mid-19th century, Western society was moving from an agrarian to a fully industrialized society, and modernism was the artistic school that emerged. Artists of this period showed a new view of nature in response to the changing times. The classicists and romantics had spoken of imitating nature, at least in theory, but modernist artists, who believed in the progress of technology, no longer saw nature as an object of imitation. They believed that nature untouched by human hands was inherently flawed and needed to be conquered. For them, the only objects more beautiful than nature were those created by human power. Modernist artists used nature as a subject for their art, but they presented it as something other than what it really was in order to show the greatness of the human spirit. In contrast to previous views of nature, this was a strong statement of the belief that humans could dominate and modify nature.
However, after experiencing the tragedies of the First and Second World Wars, contemporary artists in the West rebelled against the modernist view of nature, which advocated the humanization of nature. Ecological artists, in particular, advocated a return to nature to heal a world ravaged by scientific and technological civilization. They believed that human rational thought could not fully grasp the nature of nature, and they sought a peaceful relationship between humans and nature through art that imitates nature. However, ecological artists’ imitation does not seek to reproduce nature as it is, but rather to imitate the values and spirit of nature. They believed that true art was to harmonize with nature so perfectly that a man-made product could appear to be a product of nature. From their point of view, it is important to understand and respect the nature of nature, which can be seen as an attempt to find a way for humans and nature to coexist once again through art.
The history of Western art has evolved to reflect these different perspectives on nature, with artists of different eras interpreting and representing nature in different ways depending on their philosophical ideas and the context of their time. These changes helped propel art away from mere imitation and toward deeper reflection on nature, and nature remains an important subject of art today.
