Landscape has often been considered a ‘lesser’ genre that developed during the 18th and 19th centuries. However, it has always been an essential component in art even as early as the Middle Ages. Although landscape as an independent genre was not yet prevalent in the medieval painting tradition, pictorial settings still played a crucial role in contextualizing Biblical narratives integral to devotional practices. Medieval artists often used imaginary landscapes as a way to sequence or creatively compact scriptural episodes, as well as highlight the glory of the heavenly realm. As artistic trends developed and progressed, landscapes found autonomy as protagonists of paintings, sometimes even overpowering the figures depicted in the scenes. J.M.W. Turner was one of the leading landscape painters in 19th-century Britain who truly molded and elevated the genre, giving prominence to a subject matter that had typically been considered “background” and unimportant. Join curatorial research associate, Janet Chen, and Art of Europe Department Coordinator, Minji Kim, to discuss how the role of landscapes changed from the medieval to modern era, and how their relationships to figures framed visual interpretation and reflected the visual culture of the time.