Book excerpt: Exploring the thought of historical figures seldom consulted by art historians - including Dionysius the Carthusian, John Calvin and Constantijn Huygens - Boudewijn, Bakker sheds new light on the history and significance of landscape in Netherlandish painting. Through his analysis of these writers' conceptions of landscape, Bakker identifies an unexpected dimension of landscape art, one which has its roots in late medieval perceptions of God and creation.