Twelve Landscape Screens

Qi Baishi (1864-1957), 1925. Set of 12 paintings, each 180 x 47 cm. . Private collection. © Qi Baishi

Qi Baishi is often regarded as China’s most important modern painter, and the artist who brought the age-old tradition of Chinese painting into the 20th century. Although best known for his delicate paintings of flowers and small animals, Qi Baishi also painted two sets of landscape paintings, one in the Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing and the present work in a private collection.

“Twelve Landscape Screens, painted when the artist was 62 years old, reflects the painter’s interest in depicting varied landscapes, which led him to make numerous trips around his native China. The painting made history in 2017 when it was auctioned for $140.8 million, an all-time record for an Asian artwork.

G. Fernández – theartwolf.com