No creature on Earth apart from homo sapiens practices the art of landscape painting. An afternoon spent wandering among great works of nature-themed art is liable to get one thinking about the profound implications of this obvious yet extraordinary fact. We humans are part of nature, but we’re also uniquely capable of reflecting on nature; of capturing, embellishing, and drawing out visions of its beauty and terror; even of sharing those visions with far-flung fellow travelers and future generations. We are, so far as we can tell, nature’s best and only process of self-consciousness. Whatever your beliefs about an intelligent Creator, it’s difficult not to see a special role for humanity in that reflective capacity. Insofar as we see and interpret nature, nature sees and interprets itself through us.“Nature Cult,” Donald Moffett’s encyclopedic and bewitching art show on view through September 11 at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, is a whirlwind tour of highlights from the past century and a half…The post “Nature Cult” Is a Thicket of Remarkable Art on Ecological Themes appeared first on Texas Monthly.