Flowers and Insects, Qi Baishi

Artwork Overview

Qi Baishi, Flowers and Insects
Qi Baishi, Flowers and Insects
Qi Baishi
Flowers and Insects
1948, Republic of China (1911–1949)
Flowers and Insects, 1948, Republic of China (1911–1949)
Where object was made: China
Material/technique: color; ink; paper
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 94.6 x 42.6 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 37 1/4 x 16 3/4 in
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 174 x 50.8 cm
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 68 1/2 x 20 in
Credit line: Gift of Dr. William P. Fenn
Accession number: 1978.0113
Not on display
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Exhibition Label: "Using the Past to Serve the Present in 20th Century Chinese Painting," Oct-2006, Ai-lian Liu, Asian Art Intern Qi Baishi has been one of the most admired and frequently imitated artists in modern China. As a self-made man from a poor family, his inspiration came from a variety of unconventional sources. Drawing on his humble beginnings, he imbued his paintings with a rustic quality and ingenuousness that distinguish them from the works of classically trained artists of his time. He loved common subjects such as plants, insects, fish, shrimp, and crabs, and depicted them over and again in hundreds of paintings. Given his class status and preference for painting subjects from everyday life, Qi Baishi fared well after the founding of the PRC in 1949. Mao appreciated his art, and bestowed Qi with a succession of honors. Qi was made an Honorary Professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, named Outstanding Artist of the Chinese People by the Ministry of Culture, elected President of the Chinese Artists’ Association at the Second National Congress of Writers and Artists, and was a deputy of the First National People’s Congress. An international as well as national celebrity, Qi in 1955 received the International Peace Prize from the World Peace Council.