Summary of Landscape of the Soul
The author of the chapter ‘Landscape of the Soul’ – Nathalie Trouveroy is an art historian who explores the difference between two contrasting ways of looking at art. She compares the perspective of a Chinese and a European painter in regard to the painting of a landscape. ‘Landscape of the Soul’ is an excerpt from her work ‘Landscape of the Soul: Ethics and Spirituality in Chinese Painting.’ The Chinese painter’s perspective is inclined towards helping the viewer discover new things while viewing the landscape. The landscape is given a mystical touch that allows the viewer to discover new objects and elements in it with the passing of time, whereas the European painter creates a perfect replica of the landscape as seen by him. He wants his viewer to appreciate the very likeness of the painting to the real landscape as seen by him. The other concept presented in the chapter is the concept of ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’ that focuses on the extraordinary artwork created by untrained artists. It presents the use of any random material – that might not be considered proper in mainstream art. An excerpt from a newspaper article by Brinda Suri in the Hindustan Times on 28th August 2005 has been used to talk about the biggest contributor to ‘outsider art’ from India – Nek Chand. The summary of the Landscape of the Soul summarises both the excerpts used in the chapter in detail. Students can visit BYJU’S CBSE Notes and CBSE Summary for further information and learning material on CBSE Class 11 English.
CBSE Class 11 English Landscape of the Soul Summary
Landscape of the Soul
There is a wonderful story of a Chinese painter named Wu Daozi from the 8th century. He was commissioned a painting by his ruler, Tang Emperor Xuanzong, to decorate a palace wall. The painter created the painting and hid it behind a screen. Only the emperor would see it. The emperor enjoyed and admired the painting for quite a long time. It was a landscape with forests, mountains, waterfalls, clouds, men and birds. The painter showed the emperor a cave in the painting and told him that a spirit lived at the foot of a mountain inside the cave. He clapped his hands to open the door of the cave. The painter sought permission to show the king the way into the cave, but as soon as the painter entered the cave, he vanished without a trace of him and his painting. The artist was never seen again.
Stories like these are a part of China’s classical education found in the books of Confucius and Zhuangzi. Their role is to identify the role of the master in guiding his disciple in the right direction. These anecdotes are used to reveal the depth of the spirit in which art was perceived. Another story similar to the concept is of a painter who was reluctant to draw the eye of a dragon because he was scared that it might fly out of the painting.
Contrast is made between the concept of the above two stories with that of another one. In the fifteenth century, a blacksmith named Quinten Metsys in Antwerp fell in love with the daughter of a painter. But, the father of the girl would not accept a blacksmith marrying his daughter. So, Quinten sneaked into the painter’s studio and painted a fly on the latter’s latest panel. The fly looked so real that the painter tried to swat it when he saw it. Quinten then was immediately hired as an apprentice in the painter’s studio. He married the painter’s daughter eventually.
In the case of the Chinese painting, the emperor commissioned it and admired its appearance, but only the painter could reveal the hidden meaning of the painting. It follows a unique philosophy – ‘Dao’, that dictates that only the maker or the artist knows the way or the method and the mysterious works of the universe. The painter vanished, but his goal was fulfilled – to let his work impact in a surreal way that is beyond any material appearance. While the Chinese painting is not meant to create an actual view, the Western school of thought is quite the opposite of it. The European painting is more about creating a life-like resemblance to the original subject of the painting. The European painter would want us to borrow his eyes and look at the painting exactly as he saw it, whereas the Chinese painter would want the viewer to look at the painting through his perception.
The Chinese painting is not a real one, and the viewer can enter it from any particular point, whereas the European painting is about displaying a view as close to the one experienced by the painter. The Chinese painter creates a path for our eyes to travel up and down and then back again in a leisurely manner. This is more actualised in the use of the horizontal scroll, where the painting is disclosed gradually with the unrolling of the scroll. The eyes relish the elements of the painting in a gradual fashion, with the dimension of time added with every step of the unravelling. The Chinese painter wants the viewer to enter his mind, and the painting of the landscape is a spiritual and conceptual space.
This concept is also known as ‘shanshui’, which literally means ‘mountain-water’. It is used to represent the landscape. Apart from representing two different elements of the earth, these words also represent the two contemporary poles of the Daoist view of the universe. The mountain is Yang which reaches vertically towards heaven, whereas the water represents Yin, which is horizontal and rests on the earth. This interaction between Yin and Yang – the feminine and masculine energies is a fundamental notion of Daoism.
However, there is a third element that is overlooked – the Middle Void, where the interaction between the two takes place. This can be compared to the yogic practice of pranayama – the breathing in and out of air. The Middle Void is important as nothing can happen without it. That is why the white space in a Chinese painting is essential to the concept of a landscape. This can also be compared to man’s role in the space of interaction between Heaven and Earth. He becomes a conduit of communication between the two poles of the Universe. His presence is essential, and in the words of Francois Cheng, man is the ‘eye of the landscape.’
Getting Inside ‘Outsider Art’
When Jean Dubuffet proposed the concept of ‘brut art’, people had little interest in artworks by untrained artists. From garnering limited interest in the beginning, ‘outsider art’ has become an area of fast growing interest in international contemporary art. This genre of art is described as art by those who have not acquired any formal training in the field of art but show promise of talent and artistic insight. These artworks of untrained artists provide a different kind of stimulation compared to the ones offered by mainstream artists.
During the time when Dubuffet was propounding the concept of ‘outsider art’, an artist named Nek Chand in India was creating a masterpiece named Rock Garden with stones and recycled material. He is considered the biggest contributor to ‘outsider art’ from India. The fiftieth issue (Spring 2005) of a UK-based magazine, Raw Vision, featured Nek Chand’s ‘Women by the Waterfall’ on its anniversary issue’s cover. The notion of ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’ was about artworks that were raw in their state of influence – both culturally and artistically, and Nek Chand took it to extraordinary heights with his work.
The Swiss Commission for UNESCO recognised Nek Chand’s work as ‘an outstanding testimony of the difference a single man can make when he lives his dream.’ It decided to honour him by holding a European exposition of his works at leading museums in Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy. Nek Chand sees people enjoying his work when they walk through the garden as his biggest reward.
Conclusion of Landscape of the Soul
The summary of the Landscape of the Soul shows us how different cultures affect the use of art and its connotations. While the Chinese bring a more metaphysical aspect to the realm of art, the Europeans emphasise precision and perfection. The Chinese painter tends to be the master of his own creation and knows the real meaning of the landscape. Creativity while viewing by the audience is an important feature of Chinese painting as the viewers add new layers of meaning through their different perspectives and opinions on the painting. While in both cultures, art is supposed to mesmerise the viewer, the Chinese perspective is about presenting the philosophy of life, while the European perspective is about presenting life in its real form anatomically.
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