Chinese and Japanese artists routinely painted generalized scenes rather than recognizable places. Nevertheless, certain topographies such as Mount Fuji were frequently depicted in standard forms, becoming iconic images. European painters have generally been more specific in their representation of nature, and photography has enhanced the sense of a specific place and time captured for eternity.

Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese | Shower under the Summit, 1831, series: 36 Views of Fuji

Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, is a sacred site that has frequently appeared in art and literature since the seventh century. Its perfect symmetry and snow-covered summit make the mountain a natural wonder. In ancient times monks and samurai believed ascending the mountain would purify the spirit. Today, it is a sightseeing and hiking destination. By stylizing the forms and using color as essentially decorative rather than as a descriptive tool, Hokusai transforms a natural wonder into a striking graphic image.

Timothy O’Sullivan, American | Ancient Ruins in the Cañon de Chelly, New Mexico Territory, 1873 O’Sullivan made this iconic view of Cañon de Chelly while working as the primary photographer for George M. Wheeler’s Geological Surveys West of the 100th Meridian (the longitudinal boundary which runs north-south from the middle of North Dakota into Texas). His composition, which excludes the sky, concentrates attention on the striated textures of the massive cliff face and the ancient Anasazi dwellings, known as the White House Ruins, which were hewn from the rock itself. Cañon de Chelly, located in what is now northeast Arizona, became a National Monument in 1931, and is one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes in North America.