The relationship between man and nature has always marked the boundaries of civilization, but in the visual arts landscape has only formed a serious subject since the end of the Middle Ages, with the newfound ability of artists to create plausible realities. This course will explore the varieties of depicted landscapes, including maps and city views in early atlases within the shifting purposes of art over the past five centuries of paintings and prints. One featured element of the course experience will be a major exhibition of landscapes by the Dutch painter, Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Class visits to the Museum for that event as well as for the permanent collection will provide first-hand contact with paintings from the Renaissance era to the Impressionists.