Viewing Antiquities at the Studio of Humility
When he was in his sixties, Qi Baishi applied calligraphic brushwork to other genres of painting, particularly landscape. Viewing Antiquities at the Studio of Humility effortlessly incorporates an archaic color scheme and landscape forms into an image of deceptive simplicity. The painting depicts a solitary gentleman in his study, arms folded on the table, contemplating a tray of objects. The scholar appears at home in a world of blue and red hills and schematic trees, motifs that convey Qi's knowledge of sixth-century murals at the Buddhist cave temples at Dunhuang but that are incorporated in an unpedantic manner in harmony with his folklike vision.
Artwork Details
- 清/現代 齊白石 虛齋鑑古圖 軸
- Title: Viewing Antiquities at the Studio of Humility
- Artist: Qi Baishi (Chinese, 1864–1957)
- Date: dated 1931
- Culture: China
- Medium: Album leaf; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: 11 1/16 x 13 1/4 in. (28.1 x 33.7 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986
- Object Number: 1986.267.214
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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