Heaven for Exquisite Chinese Paintings

His was a world of insects, landscapes, flowers, plants, animals and people, and now you too can experience the wonderful works of master Chinese artist Qi Baishi.

 

With the recorded cricket sounds as background music, visitors to the new Qi Baishi Memorial Hall, located on the fourth floor of the new Beijing Art Academy Gallery near Jing Guang Centre in Beijing's Central Business District, leisurely enjoy Qi's delicate paintings of crickets, cicadas, butterflies, mantis, moths and more. Each is amazingly detailed and nuanced, as with his portrayals of insects and their tentacles and wings. With the help of available magnifiers, visitors can view lively portraits of a quiet insect world. 

 

About 1,100 art pieces contributed by Qi's family are exhibited. Most of the artworks, including his paintings, poems, essays and carved seals are presented to the public for the first time. They were collected by the national government for 30,000 yuan (US$3,750) shortly after Qi's death in September 1957. However, they weren't presented to the public until September 2005 for various reasons, making art lovers wait for the half a century since 1957. In addition to his vivid insect paintings, Qi is also famous for his depictions of landscapes, flowers, plants, animals and people.

 

These masterpieces can be enjoyed along with a view of a duplicate of his study.

 

The Beijing Art Academy, established in May 1957 with the support of former Premier Zhou Enlai, was China's first and was once its largest professional art academy. Qi Baishi was its first president. This is one of the reasons why the Qi Baishi Memorial Hall is located there.

 

As a cultural-exchange platform for the Beijing Art Academy, this six-floor gallery has collected more than 4,000 Chinese paintings belonging to ancient and contemporary Chinese artists. Exhibited on the second floor are works by Qi, Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Li Keran, Li Kuchan and Fu Baoshi. Of these, most never worked at the Beijing Art Academy or had good relationships with it. Their paintings and calligraphy can be as small as a 6-centimetres wide and 9-centimetres tall, or as large as 10-metres wide and 5-metres tall. The collection's matchless and, in reality, priceless masterpieces on display are valued at as much as 20 million yuan (US$2.5 million) each, with an average valuation of about 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) per work, making the collections' worth at least 2 billion yuan (US$25 million).

 

But it is the Qi Baishi Memorial Hall that is most important in this gallery. His artworks are classified into ten categories and will be featured in themed settings one by one, such as landscapes and people, calligraphy, carved seals and letters. Outside the exhibition hall, visitors rest and view a documentary on his experiences.

 

In a current show, visitors can easily tell the gender of the insects portrayed, and can even get a sense of the fiercely competitive insect world. Some people think the pieces are collected samples instead of paintings. Though there is nothing around the insects, viewers can sense the flowers and plants surrounding them.

 

Professor Liu Sikong, an expert on insects at the Beijing Natural Museum, said, "I studied his paintings on insects and was astonished to find that all these insects live in Beijing. This means the master completed these paintings after he moved to Beijing in the 1910s. He portrayed more than 10 kinds of insects, some of which are seldom encountered nowadays. His paintings provide us with precious resources for our study of insects found in Beijing during that time."

 

If time permits, visitors may chose to have a sip of tea or coffee on the sixth floor of the hall, while enjoying views of preliminary works of Beijing Art Academy master painters. The basic steps of painting can be learned there.

 

For the home, friends or family, an art bookstore located on the hall's fourth floor is a good choice. Books on art techniques, albums with splendid paintings, biographies concerning famous Chinese artists and exquisite postcards can be purchased.

 

Address: 1 Liulitun Beili, Chaoyang District

朝阳区六里屯北里一号北京画院

Tel: +86 10 6507 3204, 6502 3390

Admission: 10 yuan, free for primary and middle school students

 

Sidebar

Qi Baishi (1864-1957)

Born in Xiangtan City (formerly a country or prefecture), the birthplace of Mao Zedong. He learned carpentry at the age of 12 and carving at 15. He taught himself painting at an early age. He began to learn from other artists about paintings, poems, calligraphy and carving seals after he was 27. He moved to Beijing at age 50 because of wars and to earn a living by painting and carving. His paintings are characterized by simple patterns, vivid descriptions, the powerful use of brushes and his technical use of Chinese ink.