Qi Baishi was born November 22, 1863, in the Hunan Province of China and died September 16, 1957, in Beijing. Qi Baishi was self-taught in the ways of poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and was very active towards the end of his life. When he was younger, he was a carpenter, as he came from a lower class. (Qi Baishi, Encyclopædia Britannica) He was well versed in simple, sketched compositions, using bright colors and vigorous strokes, expressing love and nature. Qi Baishi theorized that “paintings must be something between likeness and unlikeness.” (Likeness & Unlikeness : Selected Paintings of Qi Baishi) He focused on smaller things such as shrimp, frogs, crabs, and insects, instead of vast landscapes. In 1953, Qi Baishi was elected to the president of the Association of Chinese Artists and was very active until the end of his life. He served as honorary president of the Beijing Academy of Chinese Painting for a brief time. (Qi Baishi, Encyclopædia Britannica)
Photo of Qi Baishi
Qi Baishi’s Painting Called Three Frogs
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Qi Baishi.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 18 Nov. 2018
- “Qi Baishi.” Britannica Online Academic Edition 24 Oct. 2018. Web.
- Qi Baishi. Likeness & Unlikeness : Selected Paintings of Qi Baishi. 1st ed. Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 1989. Print.
- Photo portrait of Qi Baishi in 1956, Picture, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_Baishi
- Qi Baishi, Three Frogs, Painting, 20th Century, Hong Kong, https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/qi-baishi-1863-1957-three-frogs-5574189-details.aspx
