Political landscape: the art history of nature

Abstract

If a river runs through it, somewhere there is bound to be a bridge. Little in the landscape remains untouched by human hands, and every touch, from the simplest ditch to the most intricate monument, reveals a political decision or design. This is how Martin Warnke, one of Germany's leading art historians, looks at landscape in this book, which leads to a new way of seeing nature as we have appropriated, represented, and transformed it over time. Covering nearly a thousand years and most of western Europe, Political Landscape provides a compelling summary history of modern humanity's ill-fated attempt to master nature.

Contents

1. The Occupation of the Plain -- 2. Hills and Castles -- 3. From Battlefield to War Landscape -- 4. Nature's Freedom as Political Freedom -- 5. Natural Forces and Natural Forms -- 6. Political Nature Imagery.