Guo Xiuyi was apprenticed to Master Qi Baishi in 1951 and studied with the Master for six years. Guo bore the master's teachings in mind, devoting all of her energy to diligent study. As a result, she made marvelous progress and gradually brought into full play all of her talent in the art of painting.
Everything painted by Guo Xiuyi seems alive on paper: human figures, landscapes, birds, and other animals, fish and shrimp, plants and flowers. All her paintings are true to life, full of vitality, showing inspiration and creativity. Other disciples of Qi Baishi praised her: "Should her work be put next to our teacher's best examples, who can tell which one is the Master's?"
Master Qi Baishi was overjoyed to see his disciple's success. He would smile and take up his brush to add some fascinating touches on her painting. Once he wrote: "The dark ink color was added by Baishi to the cat painted by my disciple Xiuyi." Another: "My disciple Xiuyi painted seven chicks and me, the meddlesome old man, added five more."
His inscription on "A Rooster in the Morning" is "Xiuyi's painting is as brilliant as mine.", on "Crabapples in Autumn": "With the autumn breezes coming back the crabapple tree has come to fruit. In this school of mine Xiuyi is the only disciple who has made such incomparable progress.".
While enjoying the paintings in the album, readers may study Master Qi's inscriptions and appreciate the witty humor of the master. In the album readers may also see Master Qi's praise of his students and understand his teaching style.
Qi Baishi (January 1, 1864 - September 16, 1957) was a Chinese painter. Born to a peasant from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi became a carpenter at 14, and learned to paint by himself. After he turned 40, he travelled, visiting famous scenic spots in China. After 1917 he settled in Beijing. In his later years, he continued to make "later-year innovations."
He is perhaps the most noted contemporary Chinese painter for the whimsical, often playful style of his watercolor works.
Some of Qi's major influences include the early Qing Dynasty painter Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) and the Ming Dynasty artist Xu Wei .
His pseudonyms include Qí Huáng . The subjects of his paintings include almost everything, commonly animals, scenery, figures, toys, vegetables, and insects. He theorized that "paintings must be something between likeness and unlikeness, much like today's vulgarians, but not like to cheat popular people". In his later years, many of his works depict mice, shrimp, or birds.
He was also good at seal carving and called himself "the fortune of three hundred stone seals".
- Publisher : Visuals Press (January 1, 2007)
- Language : English, Mandarin Chinese
- Hardcover : 133 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0979595401
- ISBN-13 : 978-0979595400
- Item Weight : 2.9 pounds
