In February, at the Vilnius University Confucius Institute, we celebrated the 160th anniversary of the birth of Chinese artist Qi Baishi and watched a short film about his artwork.
齐白石 (Qi Baishi/Qí Báishí ) is one of the most outstanding painters of the twentieth century and is sometimes called "the Picasso of China." His paintings have been sold for millions at auctions. In each of Qi's paintings, we can see simplicity and childlikeness, as if the playful objects in the artwork were seen through the eyes of a child. He created "art for people" to capture the essence of what is important to the ordinary person.
At the event, we were introduced to the artist's work and one of his paintings, which you can see in Kaunas, Lithuania, at the "A. Žmuidzinavičius Creations and Collections Museum." According to unconfirmed sources, this is an original work of Qi Baishi, which was probably given to Žmuidzinavičius as a gift. Unfortunately, it is not known who gifted it or how it ended up in Lithuania.
The painting depicts camellias (山茶花 shāncháhuā), which in Chinese paintings symbolize longevity (耐久nàijiǔ). On the right side is the name of Qi Baishi with a seal and the inscription: 歲寒時節，此花亦梅花之友 (Suì hán shíjié, cǐhuā yì méihuā zhī yǒu) - 'In the cold season, this flower is also a friend of plum blossoms'.
We look forward to seeing you at our future events!