Crabs

Artist Qi Baishi (Chinese, 1864–1957)

Date1952

MediumHanging scroll: ink on paper

DimensionsImage: 31 7/16 × 13 3/8 inches (79.9 × 34 cm);
Overall (including scroll knobs): 69 1/2 × 21 3/4 inches (176.5 × 55.2 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Dr. Hu Shih, Class of 1914

Terms

Paintings
Scroll
Hanging scroll
ink on paper
Animals
Crabs
Crustaceans
Inscriptions
Paper
Chinese

Object number56.251

Label CopyQi Baishi was born to a peasant family, and largely through his own efforts he became adept at the arts of poetry, calligraphy, and painting. His prodigious output reflects a diversity of interests and experiences, generally focusing on the smaller things of the world rather than larger landscapes. Fish, shrimp, crabs, and frogs were his favorite subjects. The political issues of the early twentieth century barely affected his work, as Qi maintained his own values and ideas despite harsh times.

Qi painted this group of four crabs at the age of eighty-eight, in a manner that represents his mature style, when naturalism and abstraction found a new balance. This painting was presented to Hu Shih as a gift by Zhang Daofan, who held senior government and party posts in the Republic of China.

("Debating Art: Chinese Intellectuals at the Crossroads," curated by Yuhua Ding, with assistance by Elizabeth Emrich, and presented at the Johnson Museum February 2-July 8, 2018)

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