Lesson = 4 [ Land Scape of the Soul Important Questions ] Important Questions

     Chapter - 4 Land Scape of the Soul

                                             By Nathalie Trouveroy

A wonderful tale is told about the Chinese painter Wu daozi who lived in the 8th century. He was engaged by the Emperor to paint on the palace wall. It was the painter’s last painting. He hid his work behind a screen which only the Emperor could see. The emperor admired the scene of forests, mountains, waterfalls and clouds, humans on hilly paths and birds in the sky. In the cave at the foot of the mountain, the painter said, lived a spirit. He clapped his hand and the cave door opened. The inside was no less splendid. He entered the cave with the emperor following him. But before the emperor could move, the entrance to the cave closed. Even the painting on the wall also disappeared. The artist was never seen again.

Such stories are common in Chinese books written by great philosophers like Confucius and Zhuangzi. They reveal the spirit in which art was considered in ancient China. Contrast this story to a representative Western painting. A famous painter of Flanders wouldn’t draw the eye of a dragon he had painted. He had a fear that with open eyes, the dragon would fly out of the painting.

There is a third story of 15th century Antwerp. A blacksmith called Quinten Metsys fell in love with a painter’s daughter. The father rejected his suit because of his law profession. So Quinten one day got into the studio and painted a fly on his latest canvas. It looked so realistic that the painter tried to drive it away. Then he realised what had happened. He accepted Quinten as his apprentice. Quinten married his beloved and became one of the most famous painters of his age.

The two stories show what each form of art tried to achieve. The European art excelled in creating perfect likeness: In Asia, the art presented the inner life and spirit.

In the Chinese story, the emperor admires the outer appearance, but the artist reveals to him the true meaning of his work. The Emperor may rule over the conquered land but only the artist knows the way within, the mysterious works of the universe.

A classical Chinese landscape, unlike Western painting, does not present an actual view. The European painter wants you to look at the landscape exactly as he saw it from a particular angle. The Chinese landscape is not ‘realistic’. You can enter it from any point. He only creates a path for your eyes to travel up and down in a leisurely fashion. This method is illustrated best in the case of a scroll. As you roll the painting scroll up to move on to another painting, you find a dimension of time in it. The viewer has to travel through the painting along with the painter. The viewer’s participation is both physical and mental. The reason is that the landscape is an Inner one, a spiritual one.

This concept is expressed as shanshui. Which literally means mountain water. The two words together represent the landscape, two complementary poles. The vertical mountain is Yang. Which is stable and warm. The horizontal water isyin—resting on the earth, moist and cool. It is feminine while Yangis masculine. This is the basic notion of daoism.

In between the receptive feminine and the active Yang—the two sources of universal energy—Is a third element, the middle empty space, where their interaction takes place. It is essential. Hence, the Chinese landscape leaves white, unpainted space. This is also the field where man plays a key role. He becomes the medium of communication between poles of the universe. He is the eye of the landscape.

Q.1. What wonderful tale is told about the Chinese painter Wu Daozi?

Ans. The Chinese painter Wu Daozi was engaged by the Emperor to decorate his palace walls with landscape paintings. It was painter's last painting. He hid his work behind a screen which only the emperor could see and admire it. But the painter got into a cave. The gate closed before the king could enter it. All the painting also disappeared along with their maker. 

Q.2. Explain the terms "illusionistic likeness", 'figurative painting' and 'delicate realism'.

Ans. The word illusionistic means creating a sort of false expression. European art tries to create illusion of actual view. 'Figurative' also has something to do with figure or actual shape of a thing. The word 'delicate' means fine. Art reproduces not exact view of reality, but only a resemblance of it. 

Q.3. What is the unique feature of the horizontal scroll? How can it be appreciated?

Ans. The unique feature of Chinese horizontal scroll is that it does not give us an integrated view of the scene. There is a gap between one picture and another. It leaves scope for the viewer to use his mind and imagination. The landscape is not realistic but an inner one.

Q.4. What is Shanshui? How does it express the concept of word 'landscape'?

Ans. Shanshui is a concept about the mystery and origin of the universe. The landscape literally means 'mountain water'. There two elements are like two poles, the source of energy. The mountain is vertical and male, the water is horizontal and female. There are also called yan and yin. They are complementary. Their interaction keeps the world going. 

Q.5. What is the third element, represents by the ‘Middle Void’ in Chinese landscape?

Ans. The masculine energy of Yang and the female energy of Yin are incomplete without each other. But their interaction takes place in the ‘middle void’, or blank space left in a Chinese landscape. Nothing can happen without the combination of both aspects of energy.

Q.6. What is Nek Chand's unique achievement and gift to the world? How did he get international recognition? 

Ans. The India born and altogether untrained artist Nek Chand developed concept of ‘outsider art’. He created a Paradise using waste material at Chandigarh. He cut the rocky place and created his dream. This drew attention of the world. His art is of an untrained visionary. Because such artists have received no formal training, but sometimes such artists show remarkable talent and insight. Nek Chand's creation is known as the 'Rock Garden'. The Swiss Commission organized a European exhibition in 2005 on Nek Chand's works of art. It was shown in various other European countries. Thus, he got international recognition.