Nature and Us: A History through Art

James Fox explores the art of the ancient world to reveal the story of our earliest relationships with nature. From the art of prehistoric hunters and the advent of agriculture and our first cities to the arrival the great faiths.

James Fox explores how art reveals how humans began to try to understand nature for the very first time. From the art of the Song dynasty in China and the Islamic world, through to the Scientific Revolution and the advent of the industrial era, James shows how in very different ways humans came to both appreciate and understand nature, whilst at the very same time beginning to dominate and control it.

James explores how Piet Mondrian gradually leaves nature behind, tidying up the messy reality of nature into abstract lines. Meet artist Yang Yongliang whose sprawling digital landscapes ask questions about the drive for rapid urbanisation.