Question

summary of the english chapter landscape of the soul

Answer 1

consists of two parts. The first part has been taken from ‘Landscape of the
Soul: Ethics and Spirituality in Chinese Painting’; and the second part is from
‘Getting Inside ‘Outsider Art’,
an article written by Brinda Suri in Hindustan Times.

 

The first part deals with the art of painting.
There is mention of two stories in it. The first story is about Wu Daozi, a
famous Chinese painter, who lived in the eighth century. He was a master
painter and had been commissioned by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong, to decorate a
palace wall. He made a beautiful painting with  high mountains,  forests waterfalls, clouds floating in clear,
big blue sky, men walking and working on hilly paths, birds in flight, and a cave
situated at the foot of the mountain, where dwelt a spirit. As the painter was
showing the painting to the emperor, he clapped hands; the entrance to the cave
opened, the painter got in; the painting vanished and Wu Daozi never came out.



The disappearance of the painting from
the wall signifies the knowledge of the spiritual inner world. Only the masters
know the way within and can go beyond any material appearance.



In another famous story, a famous
Chinese painter refused to draw the eye of a dragon he had painted for he
feared it would fly out of the painting.



The third story in the first part is
about Antwerp, a master blacksmith called Quinten Metsys fell in love with a
painter’s daughter. The father would not accept a son-in-law in such a
profession. However, Antwerp had to accept Quinten Metsys as his son in law
because he painted a fly on his panel with such delicate realism that it looked
real one.



The author also talks about Chinese
philosophy shanshui, which means ‘mountain
water’. The mountain represents ‘Yang’, the male principle; and water signifies
Yin, the female principle.

 

In the second part the author writes about the concept of ‘art brut’, which means ‘the art of those who have ‘no right’ to be artists as they have received no formal training, yet show talent and artistic insight. They are artists who think out of the box. Their works are totally different from those of their predecessors. In simple terminology this art can be called ‘unorthodox art.’ In this section the author talks about Nek Chand’s creations. His creation of Rock Garden at Chandigarh is an expression of art brut. 

Answer 2

Hey mate your answer is below:

The writer contrasts Chinese art with European art by using two stories. The Tang Emperor Xuanzong commissioned the painter Wu Daozi to decorate a palace wall. When it was done the Emperor admired the scene. The painter drew the Emperor's attention to a cave and when he clapped his hands the entrance of the cave opened. The painter entered but before Emperor could move the entrance closed and the painting vanished, along with the artist. In another story, a painter wouldn't draw the eye of a dragon he had painted for fear it would fly out of the painting. The writer then cites a story representative of Western painting in which a master blacksmith Quinten Metsys fell in love with a painter's daughter. To be accepted as a son-in-law Quinten painted a fly on the painter's latest panel. When the painter tried to swat it away he realised the truth - Quinten was taken on as an apprentice and married his beloved.

These stories reveal what each form tries to achieve. The Europeans want a perfect illusionstic likeness while in Asia it is the essence of inner life and spirit. In the Chinese story only the artist knows the way within and he reaches his goal beyond material appearance. Unlike a Western figurative painting a classical Chinese landscape does not reproduce an actual view and one can enter it from any point and travel in it. It requires the active participation of the viewer both physically and mentally. Man becomes a conduit of communication or 'the eye of the landscape.'