Frog
Qi Baishi
Description
Qi Baishi
China, 1864–1957
Frog
1927
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Gift of Katsuizumi Sotokichi, 1949/1.195
Qi’s vivid depiction of a frog is an excellent example of his
masterful use of void. It is unclear if the frog has just landed on the
ground, or if it is about to leap to the air. The inscription—Giving
voice. Winter 1927, Old Man Baishi—suggests that even the humblest
creature should be heard, and it is as if we can almost perceive the
frog’s small utterance in the empty space.
The donor of this painting, Katsuizumi Sotokichi was a University
of Michigan alumnus (A.B. 1917, A.M. 1921) and a Japanese banker
who spent time in Beijing in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He
collected works by a small circle of avant-garde Chinese painters,
among whom Qi Baishi, then in his sixties, was a leading figure.
Winter 2021 Gallery Rotation
__________
Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: Beijing 1930
May 18, 2013 – September 1, 2013
Qi Baishi
China, 1864–1957
Frog
1927
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Gift of Katsuizumi Sotokichi, University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1949/1.195
inscribed:
Giving voice. Winter 1927, Old Man Baishi.
Subject Matter:
Frog.
Physical Description:
There is a frog on the left bottom of the painting, and on the right the artist inscribed "to make a voice" with his signature and seal.
Usage Rights:
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