So talking about Qi Baishi's art refers to his original painting style of safflower and ink leaves in his later years, which can be said to be a far-reaching school. Shi Tao once said a famous artistic saying, "Pen and ink should keep pace with the times", and the greatest feature of art is its flavor of the times! Qi Baishi lived in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Whether it is a feudal society or a Republic of China society, it is a hierarchical society, an oppressive society and an unequal society. As far as art is concerned, art only reflects the aesthetic needs of the upper class, so it is far from ordinary people, because artists do not need to meet the artistic needs of ordinary people!
The same was true of Qi Baishi in his early years, but what really made Qi Baishi famous in history was his painting style after the reform in his later years, that is, his painting style in his later years. The greatest feature of his painting style in his later years is to meet the aesthetic needs of ordinary people, which is also the demand of the times, because the times have reached a modern society that advocates freedom and democracy, and the equality and freedom of social status have made ordinary people become artistic audiences. Qi Baishi is a great artist who conforms to this artistic trend. First of all, he expanded the theme of painting, which is his greatest artistic contribution. His freehand brushwork of flowers and birds is widely used. It can be said that fruits, vegetables, flowers, birds, insects and fish, as long as they fly in the sky, run on the ground, swim in the water and are familiar to ordinary people, are used in painting, which can be said to be an unprecedented artistic creation. Secondly: in the painting, Qi Baishi added red! It is a pioneering work to apply red to China's paintings! Because the ancients, especially the literati, respected black, which represents nobility and elegance and is the basic element of literati painting. Ink is transported in five colors, and the density of ink is the color element of painting. Literati painting can be said to be ink painting! Scholars oppose the use of color, especially red, because red is the favorite color of ordinary people, which is festive, but tacky and dirty.
Qi Baishi skillfully combined black with red. The use of red represents the aesthetic requirements of ordinary people, and the use of red represents the understanding and inheritance of tradition.
Zhang Daqian's artistic attainments are also extremely high, which can be said to be without successors in the history of modern art in China, but he has made no achievements in the field of freehand brushwork in flowers and birds! Zhang Daqian is not very good at the freehand brushwork of flowers and birds by masters such as Xu Wei, Badashanren and Yangzhou Baguai, which is his only weakness, and this is exactly what Qi Baishi is best at! Zhang Daqian's figure painting has two changes in landscape (ink landscape, pale crimson landscape and green landscape) and figure (Zhang Daqian's figure painting has two changes: before the age of 30, he studied the tradition of figure painting in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and his style was euphemistic and delicate; 194 1 year went to Dunhuang to copy Sui and Tang murals. The style has changed greatly, and the painted characters are magnificent and colorful, showing the legacy of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Flowers and birds (mainly meticulous painting) are very successful!
All-round elegance: Zhang Daqian has made great achievements in all artistic fields in China, and is the most accomplished person in art! Known as "the master of nearly 500 years", "Picasso of the East" and "the biggest painter in the world".
Zhang Daqian's achievements are comprehensive, and he is good at landscapes, flowers and birds, figures, meticulous brushwork, freehand brushwork and writing. Although Qi Baishi has made great achievements in flowers and birds, figures and landscapes, they are all freehand brushwork styles.
Therefore, in the field of freehand flower-and-bird painting, Qi Baishi's achievements are higher than Zhang Daqian's, and his influence is also greater than Zhang Daqian's. In the art history of China, Qi Baishi is slightly higher than Zhang Daqian. However, Zhang Daqian's position in the world art history is higher than Qi Baishi's. Zhang Daqian has almost no artistic blind spots and his style is more comprehensive.