Unit 2 Art and Artist
Who was Qi Baishi? What is he famous for? What honour did he receive? Read the text and learn more about his life.
People's Artist
From carpenter to great artist — this was the course of Qi Baishi's life. He achieved success by coupling talent with hard work. In 1953, he was honoured with the title“People's Artist”by the Chinese government.
Qi Baishi's works of shrimps, crabs and fish have often been on display. For most of the general public, however, his masterpieces are his paintings of shrimps. At the beginning, he painted these small animals by following ancient models. Later, he developed a personal style by using shades of black ink to show a shrimp's body, giving it an almost real-life feel.
Qi's works go beyond aquatic life. Some of his paintings are flowers, symbolic of prosperity, and vegetables, indicating rich harvests. People love these nature-based paintings because the works remind them of the countryside and of their hometowns. The dove is another common subject in Qi's art during his later years, showing his wish for world peace.
In his painting Qingping Fulai (Happiness in Peace), an old man holds a vase, with a fruit bat over him. In Chinese culture, the vase symbolises peace and the bat happiness, following the putonghua pronunciations of these words. This painting reveals his hope for a stable and harmonious life, a wish common to people everywhere.
Be it landscapes, birds, flowers or figures, Qi's paintings are rich in expression and detail. Using heavy ink, bright colours and energetic strokes, he created works in a fresh and lively manner, expressing his love of nature and life. His art reflects an international trend in modern art at the time, yet he expressed it in a typical Chinese way.
Although the world recognises him first as a painter, Qi is also known for his seal carvings and poems. The large number of his works reflects a variety of interests and experiences.
The man was hardworking even in his 70s. In a group of his paintings, Qi drew insects in the corners, leaving some parts blank. He did so because he wanted to focus on the finer details when his eyesight was still good enough for the task, and planned to fill these spaces with flowers later on.
Qi kept looking for higher goals, especially as he got older. While many other Chinese artists retire from public life at an old age, Qi actively took on more social responsibilities. He said:“I love my hometown, my country and all the lives there. In recent years, I have realised that what I pursue is world peace.”
In 1956, he was awarded the International Peace Prize by the World Peace Council.
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