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 Landscape of the Soul, Explanation Line by Line, Meaning of Difficult Words, English CBSE Class 11 NCERT Hornbill Chapter 4

LANDSCAPE OF THE SOUL

(Explanation and Meaning of difficult words)

Author – Nathalie Trouveroy

Anecdote A short story, Incident
delicate realism Almost real
figurative painting Painting derived from real object
illusionistic likeness Imaginary thing that looks almost real
conceptual space Visualisation as per one’s thinking

 

Word Meaning
Tale Story
Landscape Scenery
Commissioned Inaugurated

In eighth century, there lived a painter by the name of Wu Daozi. A wonderful story is told about him. His last painting was a scenery. It was inaugurated by an Emperor of Tang dynasty whose name was Xuanzong. This painting was drawn on the wall of a palace for decoration.

 

 

Word Meaning
Master Highly skilled person, A skilful person
For a long while For a long period of time
Admire Appreciate
Immense Huge, Very large

The skilful painter had hidden the painting behind a screen. Therefore only the emperor was able to see the painting. For a long time the Emperor stood in front of painting and appreciated the beautiful painting. It had forests that were looking almost real, high mountains, waterfall, clouds floating in huge sky, men walking on paths of hills, and birds flying.

 

 

Word Meaning
Sire Sir
Foot of mountain Bottom of mountain
Dwell Reside, Stay
Spirit Aatmaa,

The painter told the king that there is a cave at the foot of the mountain. In this cave a spirit resides. The painter clapped his hands. And the door of the cave opened.

 

 

Word Meaning
Splendid Wonderful
Convey Communicate, Describe
Your Majesty Respected Sir

The painter said that the cave is wonderful from inside. Words cannot describe its beauty. He requested permission of the king to show the way to the cave to the King.

 

 

 

Word Meaning
Astonished Surprised
Utter Say
Vanished Disappeared
Trace Sign, Indication
Wu Daozi’s brush Painting made by Wu Daozi

The painter entered the cave. The entrance of the cave closed after he had entered the cave. The surprised King wanted to say something. But even before that the painting also disappeared. Every sign or indication of the painting disappeared. The painter was never seen in this world again.

 

 

Word Meaning
Played Contributed
Classical Conventional
Master Teacher
Disciple Pupil, Student, Follower

Such stores have contributed a lot in conventional education of China. Confucius and Zhuangzi are two great scholars of China. Their books and teachings are full of such stories. They helped a teacher to guide their students in correct direction.

 

 

 

Word Meaning
Anecdote A short story, Incident
Reveal Show, Indicate
Contrast Compare
Spirit Feelings
Representative Specimen, Illustrative

In addition to being a short stories or incidents, these also indicate feelings of people about the art. There is one more famous story about another painter. He did not make an eye in the painting of dragon. He thought if he made the eye, the dragon would come alive out of the painting. One can compare these stories with an old story from my native place Flanders. This story can be considered an illustrative story of Western style painting.

 

 

Word Meaning
Blacksmith One who works on iron
Profession Work, Career

Antwerp is a town in Belgium. In fifteenth century, there lived a blacksmith whose name was Quinten Metsys. He fell in love with daughter of a painter. But father of the girl was not ready to accept him as his son-in-law because he was a blacksmith.

 

 

Word Meaning
Sneaked Entered without being seen
Studio Painting room
Panel A frame or area for painting
Delicate Very fine
Realism Reality
Swat Hit by a flat object
Realised Understood

Quinten went into the painting room of the painter. The painter had decided an area or had a frame where he was to make a new painting. Quinten drew a fly in that panel. It was so finely drawn that it looked a real fly. The painter tried to kill the fly with a flat object. Then he understood that it was a painting.

 

 

Word Meaning
Apprentice Trainee
Illusionistic Three dimensional art, Imaginary
Likeness Similarity
Essence Main theme

The painter was so impressed that he gave admission to Quinten in his studio as a trainee. Quinten married the girl he loved. He became a famous painter of his era. These two stories represent the difference in type of artwork present in China and in Western countries. The art work in Western countries believed in creating a three dimensional reality. While in China and Asia the main theme was related to inner life and inner feelings.

 

 

Word Meaning
Commission Inaugurate
Reveals Shows
Territory Area
Conquered won

In the Chinese story, the Emperor had inaugurated the painting. He appreciated or understood its outer appearance only. But the artist showed him the true meaning of his work. The emperor is certainly the ruler of the area of land he has won. But the inner aspects and peace of life is known only to the artist.

 

 

 

 

Word Meaning
Mysterious Secret, Strange
Beyond any material appearance Beyond physical limits

The painter had told the Emperor that he would show the path to him. The word ‘Dao’ in the name of the painter. It also  means path or the method and the strange works of this Universe. The painting had disappeared. But the artist achieved his goal that was much beyond the physical limits of this Universe.

 

 

Word Meaning
Landscape Scenery, Painting
Figurative Painting Painting derived from real object

A conventional Chinese painting does not draw the exact view while a Western painting is derived from the real objects as seen. The European painter wants to draw his painting the way he has seen a scene. He wants the viewer of the painting to see exactly what he has seen himself. Chinese painter does not believe that every person should have the same view.

 

 

Word Meaning
Leisurely Without hurry

Hence the painting made by the Chinese painter may not truly represent the current real condition. You can look at his painting from different angle, different perspective and different thought process. Then without any hurry you can look at each portion of the painting. This will help you to understand complete meaning of the painting.

 

 

 

Word Meaning
Scroll Movement

When a viewer moves his gaze horizontally on the painting, he feels that one section after the other is opening up for his viewing. When he moves his gaze vertically up he feels as if the painting is entering into another time zone. Such feeling is not possible in painting of any other culture.

 

 

Word Meaning
Pace Speed
Conceptual space Understanding, Visualisation as per one’s thinking

To attain such a deeper understanding, the viewer also needs to actively participate. The viewer decides the speed at which he will view and try to understand. This is physical participation as well as mental participation. The Chinese painter does not want that everybody should see only his view point. He wants that every viewer should exercise his own thought process to understand the painting. The scene or the landscape is seen from the inner feeling and understood as per viewer’s thought process.

 

 

Word Meaning
Complementary Supportive
Reflecting Representing
Universe World

The concept of ‘shanshui’ is known as ‘mountainwater’. When these two words are used together its meaning becomes scenery or landscape. These are not merely two aspects of an image. They support each other to represent views of Daoist about the world.

 

 

‘Yang’ represents mountain in Chinese. It rises vertically up towards Heaven. It represents stability, warmth  and dryness of the Sun. Water is called ‘yin’ in Chinese. It spreads horizontally on the earth. It represents liquid, moistness and cool.

 

 

 

Word Meaning
Receptive Ready to receive
Counterpart Equivalent
Notion Belief, Idea

Yin is considered a female aspect of the energy of this universe, Yang is considered a male equivalent part of the universal energy. The interaction between two is the fundamental belief of Daoism.

 

 

Word Meaning
Overlooked Neglected
Void Gap

Between these two forces of universe there is a big gap. This gap is the third essential part of the universal energy and it is very often neglected.

 

 

Word Meaning
Suspension Stoppage
Meditation Prayer

This can be compared with vedic practice of pranayama. While doing pranayama one learns technique of breathing in and breathing out. Between these two activities, for a shot while no activity happens. That is the time of true meditation or prayers. This period of no activity is essential. Nothing can happen in this world without it, Therefore Chinese art gives importance to the white unpainted space in the paintings.

 

 

Word Meaning
Conduit Means, Medium

In this gap or emptiness a human being achieves its basic function. It is considered a place between Heaven and Earth. A human being thus becomes a means of communication between these two parts of universe.

 

 

Word Meaning
Suggested Indicated, Indirect
Oppressed Restrained, Given trouble
Lofty Big, tall

Presence of human being is essential in this universe. Even if it is merely indicated or suggested. Still it would be better than being absent or restrained by the high peaks. A famous Chinese philosopher Francois Cheng has called man “the eye of the landscape”. It is the human being who sees and appreciates the world.

 

 

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Getting Inside ‘Outsider Art’

Author – Brinda Suri

Word Meaning
Mooted Started
Art brut Art by not formally trained artists, Outsider Art
Visionary Person with a dream, Creative

In 1940 a painter from France Jean Dubuffet started the term ‘art brut’. It means art by an outsider or art by a person who has not received formal training. During that time less number of people took notice of formally untrained but creative people.

 

 

Word Meaning
Veiled Behind a screen, Not openly
Contemporary Of the current or present era

The ‘outsider art’ was initially not practised openly. But gradually people of present era started taking more interest in it even at the international level.

 

 

Word Meaning
Genre Category, Group
Insights Understanding, Awareness
Stimulating Encouraging
Contrast Opposite to
Mainstream Belonging to main group

This category of art is from those who do have no right to pursue work of artist because they have not received any formal training. Though they did not receive any training, they have talent and understanding of an artist. Their work is an encouragement or creative. While the work of people belonging to the main group does not have anything new.

 

 

Word Meaning
Propounding Came up with, Offered, Proposed
Untutored Person not taught
Paradise Heaven, Something Marvellous

While Dubuffet was proposing and explaining his concept about ‘outsider art’ a person who had not received any formal training was creating marvellous art in India.

 

 

Word Meaning
Patch Small area
Sculpted Carved, Formed, Created

Many years ago he started clearing a small area of jungle. In this area he started installing statues carved out of stone and made by using re-usable material. The whole world knows this as Rock Garden of Chandigarh.

 

 

 

Word Meaning
Hailed Regarded, Considered, Appreciated
Pioneer First to do or develop something new

Nek Chand is the person who created Rock Garden. He is its director also. He is regarded as the biggest contributor from India towards outsider art. Raw Vision magazine of UK is considered as one of the first magazines to publish about outsider art. In its fiftieth issue of Spring 2005, it published the work of Nek Chand. One of the sculpture ‘Women by the Waterfall’ was published on the front page of its anniversary publication.

 

 

The belief of Nek Chand in ‘raw art’ meant anything that was in the unrefined stage. Something that had not been affected by culture or art. Anything like a tin, a sink or a broken car could be used for making a work of art. Nek Chand developed the art of using waste material to a very high degree.

 

 

Word Meaning
Recognising Accepting
Outstanding Of very high quality, Brilliant
Testimony Evidence, Proof
Exposition Exhibition, Fair

The UNESCO Commission in Switzerland has accepted the work of Nek Chand as brilliant work, It said that his work is an evidence about the difference a single man can make when he follows his dreams. To honour Nek Chand, UNESCO will organize an exhibition of his works in Europe.

 

 

This exhibition has been named ‘realms of Nek Chand. The exhibition will be for a period of five months starting from October. The exhibition will be held in the museums of Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy. Nek Chand says that the biggest reward for him is to see people walking through the Rock Garden to enjoy his sculptures.

 

 

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The Voice of the Rain

(Explanation)

Word Meaning
Who art thou Who are you
Soft Slowly, Gently
Shower Rain
Poetic Devices
said I to the soft-falling shower, Alliteration
gave me an answer, as here translated Alliteration
I am the Poem of earth Metaphor
Voice of the rain Personification
said the voice of the rain Repetition

The rain was falling slowly and gently. I asked it, “Who are you?” It is quite strange that the rain gave me an answer. And I am reporting the answer through this poem. The voice of the rain said that it was the Poem of Earth.

The phrase ‘Poem of Earth’ can be understood as the beauty of the earth or something essential to earth.

Here the author has imagined rain as a human being so he has said ‘voice of the rain’.

 

 

Word Meaning
Eternal Everlasting, Never ending
Impalpable Something that cannot be touched
Whence From where
Vaguely Strangely
Descend To come down
Lave Wash, Bathe
Atomies Very small
Poetic Devices
Bottomless sea Hyperbole

The rain continues to speak.

I continue to rise to the ever increasing height. Nobody is able to touch me. I rise in the form of vapours from the water bodies of the land and from the sea that is very deep. I rise upwards towards heaven. After reaching a great height my form is changed. Vapour gets condensed into water droplets. But the nature of me remains the same. I start coming down towards earth. I reach the drought hit areas to make them wet. Every small particles and every layer of dust of the universe becomes wet.

 

 

Word Meaning
Latent Inactive
Beautify Make beautiful
Poetic Devices
And all that in…. Alliteration
All that in them without me Alliteration

The rain continues to speak.

Without water all the seeds on the earth cannot germinate. They remain inactive without any growth of plants. All the time, day and night, I give life back to universe where I was born. I purify it and make it beautiful.

 

 

Word Meaning
Fulfilment Satisfaction
Wandering Moving, Strolling
Reck’d or unreck’d Cared or uncared

(The rain is like a song. It originates for earth which is called its birth place. It moves to different places – from water bodies to sky, and then travels as a cloud. But it comes back to fulfil requirement of earth. Whether any body cares or does not care for the work done by it, rain continues to do its work. It return to its original place with lots of love. )

 

 

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