Published By The Crane Gallery, INC. Asian Art and Antiquities

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The Crane Gallery, INC.www.thecranegallery.com

Tel: 206. 298.9425Fax: 206.298.9386

The goal of Chinese painting is to carry out in the greatest concision an artistic charm carrying a meaning of the infinite. Indeed, in the Chinese traditional thought, the universe consists of breaths (qi) of various densities and always moving, source of the life. To recreate these breaths in an image gives it life and established a direct link between the universe, painting and the human. Thus the act to paint or contemplate a painting makes it possible to find the unity with cosmos. Consequently, it is more than a simple aesthetic work: it's an art of living "Rhyme of the breaths and movement of life" is, to my mind, an excellent expression to catch the meaning of Chinese painting.

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Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Earliest paintings were ornamental, not representational; they consisted of pattern or designs, not pictures. Stone Age pottery was painted with spiral, zigzags, dots, or animals. It was only during the Warring States Period (403-221 B.C.) that artists began to represent the world around them. Its roots take source in an original way of thinking much older which stresses the unity of the man and cosmos and the uninterrupted dynamism of this universe. More than representation of a form, Chinese painting seeks to express the heart, the internal movement of the beings.

Spring 2012, Volume 3, Number 1

Brief History

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Qi baishi, Formerly known as Qi ChunZhi, was born in 1864 at Hunan Province of China, Qi was the professor of Central Academy of Fine Arts, he learned wood carving when he was young and began to study painting in the year of 1888. Qi was at the same time the president of Longshou mountain poetry, he traveled around China within 7 years for further painting skill strengthening since 1902, and finally stayed in the city of Beijing in 1919. Qi was teaching in the Bei Ping National Fine Arts School from year 1926 to 1936, while at the year of 1946, he hosted painting exhibition in Shanghai and started being appointed as honorary professor of Beijing Art College.

Qi was elected as a member of China National Art Workers Association as well as committee of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC), and he was early or late appointed as the Honorary Professor of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Chairman of the Chinese Artists Association, Central Literary History Research Librarian, Chairman of Beijing Chinese Painting Research Society, honorary president of Beijing Art Gallery. In 1953 Qi was even awarded as "People's Artist " by the Chinese Cultural Ministry. Qi and his paintings were also recognized internationally, Art Academy Department in Germany in 1955 had awarded him as the "Corresponding Member".

Qi had great interest on carving during his early 30s, and he started to learn from the local carving professor. He apprenticed to carving Master Huang Xiangyi when he was 35 years old, he was later influent by his friends and began to travel all over China in a purpose of keeping his mindset updated, which indirectly generated a success in this later painting career.Qi was living on painting at the age of 41 in Guilin while at the same time he travel even more places such as Guangzhou, Guangxi, Chongqing, Vietnam, Shanghai and Nanjing, during this period his painting style had apparently change from the fine art of meticulous to draw freehand. Along with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in the year 1949, Qi was strongly awarded and appraised by Chinese Government due to his indomitable spirit against the invasion of Japanese army during World War Two. Qi was eventually awarded as honorary president of China Art Gallery in Beijing in 1957, and he had never given up painting in the rest of his life even at the last moment of his 93’s.

Qi was seldom drawing portraits; however his portrait technique was somehow inffluent by the late Qing period artists. Props in his portrait painting were usually unique and well picked, either they had certain degree of implied meaning, or they may represent some sort of Chinese tradition and custom.

Flowers and birds were also hot subjects in Qi’s paintings, however not many people know that Qi was actually more prefer landscape paintings, he was even thought that his landscape painting skill was better than Flowers and Birds drawing. Of course now his self-evaluation is well recognized by connoisseurs all over the world. The price of these artworks soar up dramatically and auction fairs are held from time to time due to the comparatively lack of his landscape copies.

Master Qi Baishi Now Showing

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Chinese art, and in particular, Chinese painting is highly regarded around the world. Chinese painting can be traced to as far back as six thousand years ago in the Neolithic Age when the Chinese have started using brushes in their paintings. Chinese art dates back even earlier than that. According to subject matter, Chinese paintings can be classified as landscapes, figure paintings and flower-and-bird paintings. In traditional Chinese painting, landscape painting embodies a major category, depicting nature, especially mountains and bodies of water. Landscapes have traditionally been the favorite of the Chinese because they show the poetry inherent in nature.

There are three important parts of Chinese drawing, brush techniques, the use of ink, and the use of color.

1. Brush techniques. Practice entails acquiring the ability to paint with his wrist suspended in order to paint the longest lines, the roundest circles especially when paining bamboo poles or willow twigs in landscape painting.

An Introduction to Chinese Painting

2. The use of ink. The Chinese use black as the main color in traditional Chinese painting. They use darkness or lightness or density or dilution of ink in relation to water to represent the light and color intrinsic to various objects.

3. The use of color. The natural color intrinsic to objects, especially those found in the natural world, is emphasized in Chinese painting.

Techniques

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