Abstract
Two approaches, one explicit and one implicit, exist in the past seventy years of art history to evaluate Qi Baishi's (1864-1957) flower-and-bird painting. One is the Soviet approach, which is characterized by "theory guiding history" and "theory replacing history". It frames Qi Baishi as a "people's painter", emphasizing that Qi's poor peasant family origin has resulted in his folk taste of paintings and his realistic brushwork (close to "realism"). This approach, initiated by Wang Zhaowen, lasts for at least sixty years, which can be seen as the "mainstream". The other (non-Soviet) approach is characterized by "history exemplifying theory" and "theory drawn from history", which aims to undermining the label of "people's painter," so as to return Qi Baishi back to the art history. It claims that the key to understand Qi Baishi lies in his "changes of art style in his old age" (1920-1930), during which Qi's "painting method" (technique) changes from a fine brushwork to a freehand brushwork, his "painting style" (art) changes from cold figures of birds to warm flowers with leaves, and his "life style" (Dao) changes from a Hunan local painter to a new peak of modern Chinese ink painting after Wu Changshuo (1844-1927). The representative of this implicit "marginalized" approach is Qi Bishi himself. Historical materials such as The Autobiography of Old Baishi, Collection of Qi Baishi's Poems, and Notes on Literature and Art, may illuminate a historical path that can fully demonstrate unique Chinese art experience.
First Page
25
Last Page
36
Recommended Citation
Xia, Zhongyi. 2019. "Two Historiographical Approaches to Evaluate Qi Baishi: The Myth of the "People's Painter" and Its Counterargument." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 39, (2): pp.25-36. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol39/iss2/20
