Landscape with a Cottage and a Large Tree

Humanity is evident everywhere in Landscape with Cottage and a Large Tree. Some of the land has been cultivated, a figure transports goods by boat, and a rustic home reveals an exchange between an adult and several children. The natural world is also present in many forms, including an old tree (ever a barometer of the relative brevity of human life), a cat that walks on the thatched roof of the home, and a bird that walks amidst some reeds. This is a natural world of coexistence with humanity, with sluices to control the water level in irrigated fields and encroaching weeds as well as, or in contrast to, cultivated fields. Humanity’s urban presence is indicated by a church tower on the horizon, a form that indicates the presence of a large population.