how does the author contrast the …

A classical Chinese landscape does not stick very close to reality. It leaves enough scope for the viewer to use his imagination. The painting can be looked at from any angle and from any viewpoint. One need not see it through the eyes of the painter. The scroll on which the artist paints has white, blank spaces left after every painting. It gives freedom to the viewer to travel up and down. It captures the essence of the inner life.
A European or Western painting, on the other hand, is realistic. The painter wants you to look at it exactly as he had seen it. From a particular angle. It creates an illusion of delicate realism. The story of Quinten in the 15th century illustrates this point clearly. He entered a painter’s studio slyly and painted a fly on the artist’s blank canvas. The artist mistook it for a real fly and tried to drive it away. That story is representative of Western painting.