Landscape of the Soul - Reading and Analysis

Take a look at the two paintings below. Both have been titled 'The Sunset'. As you observe them, try to answer the following questions:

- Which one immediately brings a sunset to mind?

- Why, that is, which aspects of this painting remind you of the sunset so promptly?

- Why do you think the other painting has also been titled, 'The Sunset'?

- Look at the names of the painters. Which one do you think is a painting from the western part of the world, which one from the east?

We all know that paintings are of myriad types - the portraits, the still life, the landscapes and so on.This chapter shall focus on landscape paintings and through them, introduce you to two perceptions and styles of art - the eastern and the western.

While a painter of the west will focus on capturing an absolute reality, a likeness true to the one he 'sees', the eastern painter will paint what he 'envisions' when he looks at the landscape around him. The aim of the Western artist is 'delicate realism' while the eastern artist paints 'for a spiritual and conceptual space'.

A western artist will help the viewer see what he is seeing, while the eastern artist will wish the viewer to think what he may be thinking. Remeber, that both are creative renditions and both will take you into a world of imagination where you may have unique individual reactions to each painting. The author does not imply that one style is better than the other, merely points out the differences between the two.

The anecdotes:

The author shares the anecdote of Wu Daozi, a painter who disappeared into his own painting. The emperor who had commissioned the painting could only appreciate the outer, overt appearance. It was the painter who could envision an entire new world within the landscape and reached the ultimate goal of any artist by becoming one with his own creation.

The author further shares the anecdote about the western artist, Quinten Metsys who drew a fly so realistically on another painter's panel that the latter tried to swat it away before he realised it was only a likeness. 

The two anecdotes show that the eastern artist is painting a vision unique to his own perception while the western artist wishes to represent reality on his canvas with almost mirror-like precision.

Chinese Horizontal Scrolls:

In China, there are scrolls on which one paints in such a manner that as the scroll is unrolled, more elements continue to get added to the painting almost telling a tale. Thus, an element of time is discovered where each moment with the scroll leads to a new dimension to the original picture.

Shanshui

In China, 'shanshui' means 'mountain water' or in other words, the 'landscape' that the artist represents. These landscape paintings usually center on mountains. Mountains had long been seen as sacred places in China which were viewed as the homes of immortals and thus, close to the heavens. Water is the feminine element in such poetry balancing the power of the masculine mountains.

Yin and Yang

The Chinese philosophy believes in the concept of Yin and Yang. According to this philosophy, everything in the universe may be classified as masculine or feminine. The masculine entitites will be vertical, dry, warm, stable, active, powerful and so on. The feminine entities will be horizontal, moist, fluid, cool, unstable, receptive, gentle and so on. The interaction between these two aspects maintain the balance of the world. Without one or with the dominance of either, the world shall see chaos. This crucial interaction takes place in what the Chinese call 'the middle void'. A neutral space where the elements mingle and balance each other.

When one looks at a Chinese landscape, one also gets a glimpse into this worldview. The mountains represent the masculine elements while the water is feminine. The white unpainted space is the middle void which enables balance.

The Daoists believe that each person struggles to find 'Dao' (the true path or a way to get on to the true path). The human presence is minor in the vastness of the cosmos and each of us shall find our way only when we realise how essential balance between all universal elements is. 

In most eastern cultures, such a 'middle void' finds reference. The author ends by saying that this middle void is where human beings find their role in the universe. 

This is best exemplified by the Indian mythological story of Trishanku who wanted to reach heaven in his mortal form but had to settle for a parallel heaven mid-way between heaven and earth. (read the detailed story given at the end of this post) Thus, in this middle space or 'middle void', humanity and divinity reach a compromise and find a way to connect. The eastern painter does not merely paint the landscape of his sight, rather he paints his beliefs, his thoughts, his vision and his philosophy on the canvas. It is not merely a landscape of an area, rather, a landscape of his soul. (justification of the title)

For a long time, eastern art was considered 'art brut', the art of the uncivilized, untrained artist. These men and women had no formal training in art even though they produced artistically enriching creations. Jean Debuffet was one of the global pioneers in such art. Eastern art was not seen as the mainstream art for a long time, but this periphery style has finally begun to be given due credit due to people like Nek Chand. Nek Chand took Indian art to the global arena via the Rock Garden in Chandigarh. His raw vision received accolades all over the world and our artists were finally given recognition.

_______________________________

FURTHER READING:

Shanshui painting and poetry:

Most dictionaries and definitions of shan shui assume that the term includes all ancient Chinese paintings with mountain and water images. Contemporary Chinese painters, however, feel that only paintings with mountain and water images that follow specific conventions of form, style and function should be called "shan shui painting." When Chinese painters work on shan shui painting, they do not try to present an image of what they have seen in the nature, but what they have thought about nature. No one cares whether the painted colors and shapes look like the real object or not.

A certain movement in poetry, influenced by the shan shui style, came to be known as "shan shui poetry". Sometimes, the poems were designed to be viewed with a particular work of art others were intended to be "textual art" that invoked an image inside a reader's mind. The reading comprehension poems done as pre-reading tasks were examples of shanshui poetry.

Shan shui painting first arose to prominence during the 5th century. It was later characterized by a group of landscape painters such as Zhang Zeduan, most of them already famous, who produced large-scale landscape paintings.  

According to Ch'eng Hsi:

Shan shui painting is a kind of painting which goes against the common definition of what a painting is. Shan shui painting refutes color, light and shadow and personal brush work. Shan shui painting is not an open window for the viewer's eye; it is an object for the viewer's mind. Shan shui painting is more like a vehicle of philosophy.

Shan shui paintings involve a complicated and rigorous set of almost mystical requirements for balance, composition, and form. All shan shui paintings should have 3 basic components:

Paths - Pathways should never be straight. They should meander like a stream. This helps deepen the landscape by adding layers. The path can be the river, or a path along it, or the tracing of the sun through the sky over the shoulder of the mountain. The concept is to never create inorganic patterns, but instead to mimic the patterns that nature creates.

The Threshold - The path should lead to a threshold. The threshold is there to embrace you and provide a special welcome. The threshold can be the mountain, or its shadow upon the ground, or its cut into the sky. The concept is always that a mountain or its boundary must be defined clearly.

The Heart - The heart is the focal point of the painting and all elements should lead to it. The heart defines the meaning of the painting. The concept should imply that each painting has a single focal point, and that all the natural lines of the painting direct inwards to this point.

  

Shan shui is painted and designed in accordance with Chinese elemental theory with five elements representing various parts of the natural world, and thus, has specific directions for colorations that should be used in 'directions' of the painting, as to which should dominate.

Direction	Element	Colour
East	Wood	Green
South	Fire	Red
NE / SW	Earth	Tan or Yellow
West / NW	Metal	White or gold
North	Water	Blue or Black

Positive interactions between the Elements are:

• Wood produces Fire
• Fire produces Earth
• Earth produces Metal
• Metal produces Water
• Water produces Wood.

Elements that react positively should be used together. For example, Water complements both Metal and Wood; therefore, a painter would combine blue and green or blue and white. There is a positive interaction between Earth and Fire, so a painter would mix Yellow and Red.

Negative interactions between the Elements are:

• Wood uproots Earth
• Earth blocks Water
• Water douses Fire
• Fire melts Metal
• Metal chops Wood

Elements that interact negatively should never be used together. For example, Fire will not interact positively with Water or Metal so a painter would not choose to mix red and blue, or red and white.

TRISHANKU'S STORY:  

This story is a part of the Valmiki Ramayana. King Trishanku wanted to go to heaven as a mortal. He approached Guru Vashishta to perform the rites necessary to help him go to heaven. It was against the laws of nature and the guru refused. The gurus sons refused Trishanku's requests too and cursed him. During his wanderings, Trishanku met the sage Vishwamitra who was a rival of Guru Vashishta and agreed to perform the rites. As the yagnas proceeded, Trishanku began rising up towards heaven. The devas were alarmed by this unnatural occurence and under Indra's leadership, stopped Trishanku's ascend, causing him to fall back towards earth. The furious Vishwamitra refused to accept defeat and arrested the fall. There stayed Trishanku suspended mid-air in a state of unstable equilibrium. To help him, and eventually understanding why the devas resisted Trishanku's entrance to heaven, Vishwamitra created a parallel heaven for Trishanku mid-air, exactly where he was. It was decided that Trishanku would rule this heaven but he would not supersede the command of Indra, the true ruler of heaven. To ensure this, Trishanku was to stay in his heaven, upside down.