In its diversity, changeability and fierce power nature offers the artist an interesting artistic source of inspiration. Nature appeals to us; within it we can meditate upon ourselves and our roots, find peace of mind and attain a unique sense of freedom. It is in the encounter with nature that we are forced to recognise the existence of something greater than ourselves, and also that we, as living creatures, are part of this greater whole. Through art we can immerse ourselves in a captured moment and share the artist's fascination with a stormy sea, giant rockformations, wide-open spaces and nature's changing moods.
Landscape is nature tamed and shaped by man. We create and adjust nature around us and celebrate it in idyllic landscape paintings of romantic woodland paths and images of outdoor life on the shores of lake and sea. Whether artists draw inspiration from rough and wild nature or the domesticated, cultivated landscape is a matter that changes over time. The Golden Age painters' way of representing the Danish landscape has been vastly influential in shaping the modern perception of what constitutes a beautiful and very Danish scenery.
