Landscape of the Soul Summary

The summary of Landscape to Soul will help you learn about this chapter in a very basic and straightforward way. Nathalie Trouveroy's tale "Landscape of the Soul" is about art. The story, Landscape to soul stimulates the diverse sense of beauty and wishes of artists from Western and Eastern cultures. While the Western eye yearns for an exact depiction of life, artists in the East seek active and emotional involvement with their profession. The chapter is divided into two sections. The first section is from the book 'Landscape of the Soul: Ethics and Spirituality in Chinese Painting.' The second portion is taken from 'Getting Inside 'Outsider Art,' a Hindustan Times piece authored by Brinda Suri.

Detailed Summary of Landscape Of The Soul 

This chapter is divided into two sections; each tells us about art and its history via various anecdotes, i.e., a short and interesting story with a point. We learn about the art of painting via two stories in this excerpt from 'Landscape of the Soul: Ethics and Spirituality in Chinese Painting.' The first is about Wu Daozi, a well-known Chinese painter. Around the eighth century, he was recruited by Tang Emperor Xuanzong to beautify a palace wall.

Wu created gorgeous landscapes with mountains, waterfalls, woods, clouds, and blue sky, as well as people living in harmony in a pleasant setting. He depicted a cave at the foot of a mountain inhabited by a spirit. When the painter was displaying his painting to the emperor, he clapped his hands, and an opening to the cave opened, allowing him to enter and vanish.

Thus, the author claims that after fading, it symbolizes the awareness of the mystical inner realm. As a result, it is stated that only masters are aware of the route inside and may travel beyond any material form. Similarly, another prominent Chinese painter would not depict a dragon's eye for fear that it might become real and fly out of his work.

The third is about Quinten Metsys, a great blacksmith who falls in love with the daughter of a painter. Despite his father's disapproval of his son-in-occupation, he continued to do so. Quinten was allowed because he had painted a fly on his board. It had a delicate authenticity that reminded him of a genuine one. Furthermore, the author discusses Chinese philosophy, Shanshui, which means mountain water.

Finally, the second half of Brinda Suri's 'Getting Inside 'Outsider Art' discusses the notion of 'art brut.' Art Brut is the art of those who have "no right" to be artists. It's because, despite their lack of formal training, they have artistic skill and understanding. She refers to them as those who think outside the box and rejects conventional wisdom. Their work is referred described as 'unorthodox' art. She mentions Nek Chand's work in the Rock Garden in Chandigarh as an example of art brut.

The Bottom Line

The author's work is well illustrated in this narrative. This chapter compares various art genres and the interpretation of these works from the artist's point of view. The author attempts to demonstrate a comparison of various art genres. This chapter discusses the legends and myths that circulated about great artworks in ancient times. The emphasis is on how realistic and finely produced the paintings were. This chapter explains the significance of imagination and how painters perceive things differently and uniquely. The art form does not have to be viewed via a single lens; several ways exist to imagine a single picture with multiple perspectives.