Conquering Europe

 ——the introduction of Qi Baishi’s painting in Europe in the early 1930s

Abstract:

Alongside with gaining recognition in China, Qi Baishi’s work was presented in Europe during the early 1930s for the first time. Qi’s paintings were part of a large collection of modern Chinese painting assembled by the Czechoslovak painter, collector and teacher Vojtěch Chytil. They were also brought to Europe by Liu Haisu and Xu Beihong as part of the official exhibitions of modern Chinese painting, which were initiated and supported by the Chinese government.
This article will discuss the circumstances surrounding the first presentations of Qi Baishi’s painting on European soil. It will also try to trace the reproductions of these paintings that can be still found today. These will illustrate the types of paintings that were part of each kind of the above mentioned exhibitions and enable us to make a picture of Qi Baishi’s works that were present in Europe in the early 1930s.

Key words:
Qi Baishi, Vojtěch Chytil, Liu Haisu, Xu Beihong, European collections of Chinese painting, modern Chinese painting – 1920s to 1930s, exhibitions of modern Chinese painting in Europe