I adore the landscapes seen in the distance, oft through arched windows or stone doorways, of paintings by Renaissance artists. These glimpses are some of the most beautiful things I have seen. While I was perusing the excellent book, 'Paintings in the Louvre' by Lawrence Gowing (fantastic writing), I was drawn into and through the simple rectangular window on the side of what was ostensibly a portrait, along a winding path, and into a simple but exquisite landscape composed of a similarly winding river leading to a bay, a mountain in the far distance and on to a hill to the right, upon which a couple of cypress trees reached, whilst below a steep path led to a terracotta roofed church. This path, in turn, led me to pick up the camera and snap just a few of the other distant landscapes that had caught my attention and captivated the imagination in this book. Rather than listing them I thought I would question you few readers who have admirably chanced upon this page. Attribute, if you so desire, the title of the painting to its corresponding crop as presented below. What, I'm afraid, is quite evident looking below is how divorcing the scene from its original environment diminishes its power greatly, as does the reproduction of it in print and my reproduction of this (at quite a remove from the original). However, I do hope something can be seen from them to enjoin us to further seek their beautiful vistas within their original contexts in the paintings themselves.