Appreciation of Qi Baishi's "Shrimp":
Qi Baishi's shrimp painting reflects a high degree of pen and ink skills. In addition to expressing the unique properties of ink and rice paper, it also expresses the texture of shrimp. It is one of the most realistic objects in Shiraishi's works.
Qi Baishi once said helplessly: "I am seventy-eight years old, and people say that I can only draw shrimps. How wrong! (Inscribed on the painting of shrimps at the age of 78)". It is true that Qi Baishi can only draw shrimps. Experts say that it is as ridiculous as mentioning that Xu Beihong painted horses and Huang Zhou painted donkeys. But on the other hand, it also reflects that Qi Baishi's shrimp paintings are indeed good and people like to see them. This is also a fact.
Qi Baishi's paintings of shrimps can be said to be a masterpiece in the painting world. They are smart, lively, lifelike and full of charm. He uses light ink to paint the body, and the soaked color makes the shrimp body more crystal clear.
Use the vertical dots of thick ink as the eyes, the horizontal writing as the brain, the falling ink turns into gold, and the pen strokes are vivid. The beard, claws, and pincers are written with fine brush strokes, which combine hardness and softness, and are concise and vivid, showing the painter's superb calligraphy skills. When a painter writes about shrimp, he comes from life, but transcends life. He boldly summarizes and simplifies it, and he also needs a vivid and wonderful pen.
Extended information:
Creative background of "Shrimp":
Qi Baishi is famous for painting shrimps. Shrimps, Qi Baishi not only painted many, but also his " "Invention", his "patent", became his "symbol" and "symbol". Qi Baishi succeeded in painting shrimps, so he made a special notice: "Baishi painted shrimps, one dozen or two." People who know art said: "The style is not high, it's worth it! It's worth it!" Most of the people who asked for the painting did not bargain, but paid for the painting. Everyone gets something.
On this day, there happened to be a well-behaved customer with a bald head and monkey cheeks. He took 35 taels of silver to buy paintings from Qi Baishi. He thought, this old man would paint four of them, wouldn't he earn half of them? He knocked on the door of Qi's house with great pride in his heart. Qi Baishi looked at it, smiled slightly, happily accepted the money, and asked the bald customer to pick up the painting the next day.
The next day, the bald customer came to Qi’s house and opened the scroll. He saw that there were only three small shrimps on the picture. The shrimps were not big, but they were also lively and energetic. The bald man thought to himself, my five taels of silver cannot be given away in vain. Seeing Qi Baishi about to have a seizure, Qi Baishi pointed at the painting and asked him to take a closer look.
The bald man blinked his small triangular eyes and saw clearly, a shrimp tail was exposed between two aquatic plants, and the shrimp head was diving into the water to look for food! The bald patron was speechless, smiled, and left with the painting in his arms.
About the author of "Shrimp":
Qi Baishi (1863-1957), an outstanding modern painter, calligrapher and seal carver. His original name was Qi Huang, Chunzhi, with the courtesy name Weiqing, his nickname Baishi, Binsheng, Azhi, the owner of Jiushanyin Pavilion, and the old man Jiping, etc. A native of Xiangtan, Hunan. He learned carpentry at the age of twelve, and later worked as a carpenter and also studied painting. He also studied poetry, calligraphy, and seal cutting. He started out as a painter, painting clothes and portraits for villagers.
After the age of 60, he settled in Beijing and made his career selling paintings and engraving. Throughout his life, he respected Xu Wei, Zhu Da, Shi Tao, Wu Changshuo and other predecessors. He valued innovation and constant changes, creating a unique style. The works he paints are all filled with love for life.
His seal cutting is simple and powerful, his calligraphy is vigorous and calm, and his poetry and painting theory are also unique. He serves as a member of the presidium of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairman of the Artists Association. In 1953, he was awarded the title of "People's Artist" by the Central Ministry of Culture.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Shrimp (Qi Baishi’s painting)