Qi Baishi is a great luminary of Chinese painting in the 20th Century. Together with his visionary contemporaries, the great master wrote a glorious chapter for Chinese painting that exalted it to a whole new level. An exhibition centered on the life and art of Qi Baishi is now celebrating his contribution at the Museum of China Art Academy.

"Qi Baishi and Chinese Painting", is set out logically on the museum's four floors. On the first floor are his photos, manuscripts and implements. On the second floor the works of Qi Baishi's teachers, contemporaries and students are on exhibit. Here one finds a panorama of Chinese painting during the 20th century. The third and fourth floor show Qi Baishi's own work. One of his works can sell for up to twenty million yuan, or about 3 million US dollars.

The most highly acclaimed works are the artist's depiction of insects. Qi Baishi painted the insects while he was in his sixties. He feared that his failing eyesight might prevent him from capturing the insects' delicate detail. He intended to add background, such as flowers and grass. But the works were never completed. Each incomplete piece however, became recognized as art on its own merit and for its good humoured outpouring of artistic energy.

The 200 works in the show were selected from among more than thirteen hundred in the museum's permanent collection. The museum's director says there are many reasons to feature Qi Baishi today.

Wu Hongliang, director of Museum of Beijing Art Academy, said, "As viewed from the transition of modern and contemporary Chinese paintings, the exhibition aims to reexamine the historical perspective. It surveys contemporary Chinese paintings in perspective. The exhibition is opening at such a key moment that it provides an opportunity for art lovers from around the world to walk into the realm of Chinese art."

Qi Baishi is such an exceptional figure in modern Chinese painting. His works and his artistic course remain inimitable.

He is a master of figures, landscapes, flowers and birds. His works embrace the arts of painting, poetry, calligraphy and seal carving.

The artist was a carpenter's apprentice. His skills in art were self-taught. He lived through three periods of Chinese history, the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.

The artist boasts a Promethean craft. He conducted many experiments on Chinese paintings to break through the inherent subject matter. He defined completely new images and in the process found innovation.

Qi Baishi's own words may best describe his artistic soul, "The quintessence of painting creates a balance between the similar and the dissimilar and reconciles it to the real world; if it's too similar, the painting is common and if it's not it deceives the world".