Cultural attitudes to nature have historically differed between East and West. In China, nature was seen as a literal or metaphorical escape from the pressures of urban life, and the ideal of the scholar communing with nature was an iconic theme. In medieval and early renaissance European painting, in contrast, nature was viewed as wild, even threatening, and the domain of forces beyond human control.

Shen Zhou, Chinese | Poet on a Mountain Top, late 15th century

No Chinese painting expresses more successfully the ideal of man at one with nature. A figure atop a towering cliff looks out into the distance and a poem, inscribed in calligraphy at upper left, identifies the figure as the artist. “White clouds like a belt encircle the mountain’s waist/A stone ledge flying in space and the far thin road/ I lean alone on my bramble staff, gazing contented into space/Wishing the sounding torrent would answer to your flute” The poem describes a nature that is evocative and idyllic, inviting the viewer to follow the artist into the landscape.

Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Flemish | Alpine Landscape, ca. 1555–1556

This panoramic landscape shows the rugged scenery of the Alps, which the artist had to cross when he travelled to Italy from Flanders in 1551. In those days mountains were regarded as scarier than they are today, since they were more inaccessible, and some of the terror and awe of mountain scenery is vividly conveyed by this print. The dramatic nature of the scene is enriched by the fine detail of the trees and rock formations.

Qiu Ying, Chinese | Fisherman’s Flute Heard over the Lake, mid-16th century This painting epitomizes the ideal of man and nature in harmony. In a skiff floating on a lake, a fisherman—a symbol of rustic simplicity—has put aside his fishing rod to leisurely play his flute. On the riverbank, a scholar sitting in his study is distracted by the sound of music, and abandons his book on the floor to contemplate the scene. In a corner of one building, a servant makes tea for his master. Although far removed from us in time and space, this idyllic scene resonates with our universal need for moments of quietude and sublime beauty.

Osamu James Nakagawa, American | Okinawa 001, 2008 Osamu James Nakagawa made this image of Okinawa, an island off the Japanese mainland. Nakagawa was drawn to this location for both its natural beauty and its bloody history: during World War II, American and Japanese forces battled for control of the island, and one quarter of the civilian population died. Fearing capture, many Okinawans took their own lives by jumping off the craggy, volcanic cliffs into the turbulent sea below. To create this image, Nakagawa took a number of individual photographs and stitched them together in a vertical cropping, referencing the visual tradition of Japanese scroll paintings as well as the unique geological beauty of the land itself.