Qi Baishi
According to the legend, Pablo Picasso once said, that he didn’t dare to go to China, because there was Qi Baishi. He was the greatest artist of Asia. Perhaps it is only an invention of the Chinese propaganda, but even the fact of its existence demonstrates the importance of Qi Baishi oeuvre in the development of Chinese painting: his ability to combine traditions with modern techniques and subjects, his tenacity and boundless diligence. The life of this man has inspired and inspires thousands of young artists.
We cannot diminish the importance and high artistic value of Qi Baishi works, because he is an outstanding Chinese artist of the XX century, who has had an enormous influence on the development of the fine arts of China. Even during his lifetime he was awarded with the title of "Great artists of the Chinese nation." Also in 1956 he was awarded with the International Peace Prize.
Qi Baishi was born on the 1st January 1864 in Xiangtan, Hunan Province in a peasant family. Since childhood the future artist was distinguished by poor health. Boy’s grandfather realized, that he is not suitable for the work in the field, and decided to teach him how to read and write. At the age of two, Qi Baishi tried to write the hieroglyphs. At the age of six he was sent to the school, which he left after six months because of the health problems. Incidentally, at the age of ten he was formally married to a girl, which was sold to his parents' house in order to help with the housework. But young people started real relations only at the age of 17. But nevertheless, together with Chen Chuntszyun they have lived 64 happy years together. After the death of his wife in 1940, Qi Baishi was married on Baozhi Hu. Together from two marriages, he had seven sons and five daughters.
At the age of 13, the boy studied carpentry skills, and a year later he became interested in wood carving. Exactly at this time he read the "Treatise about Paintings of the Mustard garden" composed by masters of traditional Chinese painting of the Early Qing period. So he gradually began to learn how to draw.
At the age of 24 years, Qi Baishi decided to devote himself to his hobby. He persistently studied painting, poetry, calligraphy and seal engraving. In 1890, he found his first teachers: the famous painter Hu Qinyuan taught him the genre of "birds and flowers" and Chen Shaofan taught versification. In 1894, Qi Baishi became the head of the "Poetry Society of the Mount Dragon".
In 37 years, Van Hayyun became his teacher. At 39, he made a trip to the capital of China for the first time, and the following year a trip across the whole country. He visited the most scenic spots of China, which had inspired various artists throughout history: Huangshan, Guilin, Chongqing, and others. This trip greatly influenced the works of the master: he gave up the style of "Gunba" and came to the more emotional one, called "Sei".
In 1917 the artist moved to Beijing, where he was happily taken to the artistic circles. In this city, he met with Chen Henke, who was the creator of the "Society for the Study of Chinese Painting." Thanks to the influence of Chen Henke, who was an educated and versatile man, Qi Baishi created his own unique style of "Red flowers and black leaves"( Zhiyuan, Cong 12).
In Beijing, he got the opportunity to study the works of old masters like: Zhu Da and Shi Tao, and to communicate with the modern one: In Changsha. Even one saying was created due to this issue: “On the south In is famous, while on the north – Qi”. As we know, In Changsha was one of the most prominent representatives of the Shanghai school of painting.
In 1922, with the support of Chen Henke, an exhibition of Qi Baishi was held in Japan, where his paintings were selected to participate in the Paris exhibition of art. International success came to the master at the age of 58. And that was just the beginning. In 1927 he was invited to teach Guohua style in the State Art School of Beijing, and the next year ─ to the Art Institute of Peking University. Also in 1928 the collection of works of Qi Baish was published.
In 1936, by the invitation of Wang Xu Juan, he attended beautiful mountains Emei and Tsinchen. During the Japanese occupation he hanged an inscription on the door of his house, which announced that the pictures were no longer sold. After the defeat of the Japanese invaders in 1945, the artist returned to the sale of paintings and took orders for the production of stamps.
In 1949 "The Life of Qi Baishi” was published. After the founding of the PRC the artist was selected as a deputy and assigned to various honorable positions. Such a love from the government of new China can be explained by the fact that Qi Baishi at that time was extremely popular in society and actually was never involved in the political life of the country.
On the 15th September 1957, at the age of 93, the great master passed away and was buried in Beijing.
Work cited:
Zhiyuan, Cong. The Soul of Chinese Painting. Beijing: Wayne, 2010. Print.
