May 22 – 23, 2026
Defined as the unity of all elements within a given area as perceived by humans, landscape represents not only a recurrent motif in the visual arts but also a concept of substantial interpretative and scholarly depth, lending itself to diverse interdisciplinary approaches. Since the 19th century, when Alexander von Humboldt introduced it as a scientific concept within geography, the notion of landscape has evolved into a significant object of study across numerous academic disciplines — ranging from archaeology and historical studies to ecology, environmental sciences, landscape architecture, urbanism, psychology, sociology, and related fields.
Although frequently employed in everyday language, the term landscape—along with related terms such as paysage and scenery—is a highly polysemous and semantically rich concept. Each of these terms is understood and applied differently across various artistic and scientific disciplines. In the visual arts, for instance, landscape appears in forms such as landscape painting and landscape design; in literature, it emerges as landscape poetry; in linguistics, as the ubiquitous linguistic landscape; and in music and sound art, as the musical landscape or soundscape. Within geography, architecture, and urbanism, distinctions are often drawn between urban and rural as well as natural and cultural landscapes (or paysages). In agronomy and the natural sciences, attention is directed towards landscape architecture and the concept of significant landscapes as forms of protected areas. Moreover, the concepts of cultural, historical, and archaeological landscapes are relevant in the context of cultural heritage preservation. Owing to its broad applicability, the concept of landscape also constitutes a recurrent theme in education—across all levels, from early childhood to higher education—where the terms landscape and scenery are frequently used interchangeably.