The majesty of our planet—its sublime beauty, biological diversity, and ability to instigate powerful modes of metaphysical reflection within its human inhabitants—remains a constant motif in the history of Western art. The paintings of Claude Lorrain, Rembrandt, Caspar David Friedrich, and George Inness are enduring reminders of the aesthetic richness of the genre. The sensual pleasures that the natural world incites and the darker forces[…..]