The myth of the untouched landscape, which dates back centuries, has evolved from Vergil’s poetry and Caspar David Friedrich’s paintings to modern conceptual art. Since Romanticism, nature has served as a refuge from industrialization and mass culture. It has taken the place once occupied by God, becoming a sacred space where one can experience solitude and sublimity. Friedrich’s paintings capture this solitude, reflecting feelings of freedom and tranquility akin to mountain walks.

Landscapes often conceal ideological constructs by omitting elements like industry and urbanization, positioning themselves as nostalgic contrasts to urban reality. Myth and ritual evoke mystery, connected to ancient cultures and basic life truths, rather than historical events.

Science views myth as irrational, whereas myth speaks to a primal human sentiment. Modern artists, feeling humanity’s existential threats, seek to return to these roots. They draw on classical forms, not to reproduce content, but to recreate the mythic gesture. Landscape art often embodies this mysticism, reconnecting with life, nature, and mortality. Land art brings this mythic connection into the natural world, blending memory, transience, and the passage of time.

The Landscape and Myth