Landscape of the Soul:-

Questions:-
1. “Such stories played an important part in China’s classical education.” Which story has
been referred to here?
2. How is the European art form described as?
3. Which European painter’s story has been discussed in the story?
4. Can European paintings be looked in any perception/viewpoint from the viewers’ side?
Is the situation same with Chinese art?
5. What are the words that are used to describe Chinese art?
6. Explain the meaning of the following terms:-
i. Shanshui
ii. Yang
iii. Yin
iv. Dao
7. What is the importance of the unpainted white space in Chinese paintings and
landscapes?
8. Who is the author of the lesson “The Landscape of the Soul”?
9. What is the headline of case study in the lesson?
10. Who termed the term “art brut”? What does it mean?
11. How did the Rock Garden start? Name the person behind the concept and discuss his
efforts as an outsider artist.
12. How was the work of Nek Chand honored?
13. What is Daoism?
14. Name some famous Chinese artists named in the lesson.
15. Describe the mural painted by Wu Daozi.
Answers:-
1. The story that has been referred to here is the legend of the great Chinese painter, Wu
Daozi, and his famous mural. That was his last painting, after which he was never seen
again and the disappearance is still a mystery.

2. The European art form is described as “a perfect, illusionistic likeness, with delicate
realism- a figurative painting”.

3. Quinten Metsys is the famous European of 15th century whose story has been
discussed in the lesson.

4. No, the European paintings cannot be seen in any viewpoint. To understand the
beauty and the meaning of these paintings, you have to look through the eyes of the
painter, i.e., you have to understand the true meaning from the painter’s viewpoint. In
contrast, Chinese art does not have a fixed meaning. It is more spiritually related and
can be seen in multiple perspectives. Here, what matters is the involvement of mind
and soul to understand the meaning of the painting and discover the peace and essence
of human life within it and oneself.

5. The words used to describe Chinese art are listed as follows:-

 the essence of inner life and spirit
 beyond any material appearance
 An inner one, a spiritual and conceptual space.

6. The words are defined as follows:-

i. Shanshui - It literally means ‘mountain water’ which is used together to
represent the word ‘landscape’. More than two elements of an image, these
represent two complementary poles, reflecting the Daoist view of the universe.
ii. Yang - the Mountain in the Chinese landscapes is called Yang and is depicted as
reaching vertically towards Heaven which is stable, warm, and dry in the sun. It
is depicted as the active and masculine part in the universal energy.
iii. Yin - the water in the Chinese landscapes is known as Yin, which is portrayed as
horizontal and resting on the earth, fluid, moist and cool. It is the receptive part
of nature, the feminine aspect of universal energy in Chinese art.
7. The white space left in Chinese art is used to illustrate the essential third element,
apart from Yang and Yin, “the Middle Void” where their interaction takes place. This
is compared with the yogic practice of pranayama; breathing in, retaining, breathing
out and here the suspension of breath is the Void where meditation occurs. This is
where Man finds a fundamental role. In that space between Heaven and Earth, he is
represented as the conduit of communication between both poles of the Universe. In
Francois Cheng’s wonderful expression, the man or the gap is “the eye of the
landscape”. The Middle Void is essential and nothing can happen without it; hence the
importance of the white, unpainted space in Chinese landscape.

8. The author of the lesson “The Landscape of the Soul” is Nathalie Trouveroy.

9. The headline of case study in the lesson is – “Getting Inside ‘Outsider Art”.

10. The term “art brut” was termed by French painter Jean Dubuffet in 1950s. It describes
the art of those who have ‘no right’ to be artists as they have received no formal
training, yet show talent and artistic insight.

11. The Rock Garden started when a little patch of jungle was cleared to make a garden
sculpted with stone and recycled material. The person behind the concept was Nek
Chand. Anything and everything from a tin to a sink to a broken down car was used as
material for a work of art, and Nek Chand, even when not having an official
qualification, put his complete creativity in creating the garden.

12. Nek Chand, due to his immense effort as an outsider artist, is now hailed as India’s
biggest contributor to outsider art. The fiftieth issue (Spring 2005) of Raw Vision, a
UK-based magazine pioneer in outsider art publications, featured Nek Chand, and his
Rock Garden sculpture ‘Women by the Waterfall’ on its anniversary issue’s cover.
Recognizing his art as “an outstanding testimony of the difference a single man can
make when he lives his dream”, the Swiss Commission for UNESCO honored him by
way of a European exposition of his works. The five-month interactive show, ‘Realm of
Nek Chand’, was held at leading museums in Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy.

13. Daoism is a philosophical or religious tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes

living in harmony with the Dao - “Let me show the Way”- a word that means both the
path and the method, and the mysterious works of the Universe, mainly spiritually.

14. Some famous Chinese artists named in the lesson are:-

  Wu Daozi
 Confucius
 Zhuangzi
 Francois Cheng

15. The painting painted by Wu Daozi was a landscape. It depicted Chinese art and
showed forests, high mountains, waterfalls, clouds floating in an immense sky, men on
hilly paths, birds in flight, etc. The main feature about the painting was the mountain.
At the mountain’s foot; as told by Daozi; was a cave where a spirit dwelled.