"Forests, both as an idea and as real environments, were designed by human activities and human intentions since time immemorial. In one of the most moving forest scenes captured by an artist, The Hunt in the Forest by Paolo Uccello (ca. 1465), this idea manifests itself in full force. [...] the painting dives into the essence of a complex and symbolic social activity: the nobles on their horses with the crescents on the trappings, their footmen with their spears and decorated daggers, the hound chasing the game, the gazelles being surrounded in their last living moments, and, above all, the dark of the forest, with the glitter of gold flecks in the foliage. What is striking about this work from a forest perspective is how artificial the space is." - Dan Handel, Designed Forests: A Cultural History (Routledge, 2025)