Tuesday 30 November 2010

Qi Baishi Painting

Chinese Famous Painting Enjoying Qi Baishi

Qi Baishi (1877-1957) is considered one of the great Chinese Painters.  His parents were poor and lived by cultivating rice, his mothers savings paid for one year of formal education when he was 8.  At the age of  16 he started to be a carpenter, on reaching the age of 27 he began to be taught painting, calligraphy and literature. This was obviously a person of great talent. Unusual for his time his paintings contain no western influences although his Chinese style was considered innovative. He painted from nature, animals, insects, flowers and mountains. Every brush stroke was there for a purpose and he never stopped learning throughout his life. A true polymath.  His famous saying is:  
"The excellence of a painting lies in its being alike, yet unlike. Too much likeness flatters the vulgar taste; too much unlikeness deceives the world." 

My sender says this card is very Chinese and sends with
a 2007 Happy New Year Stamp. The Chinese New Year starts in 2011 on February 3rd and will be the year of the Rabbit (metal in case you know your birth elements).

Thank you Mayi for this unique card.

1 comment:

Yoshi said...

Thanks for commenting on my blog.
It's a nice quote. I could only recognize two letters in the first photo, which is "July =七月". This handwriting is too good and skilled for me to figure out...