Traditional grass insect painting

In fact, it is not difficult for a painter to draw a cicada. Qi Baishi painted this cicada worth 800 million yuan, mainly because when experts magnified the cicada eight times, they found that the vivid part of the painting lies in its wings, abdomen and back. Its wings are transparent and integrated with freehand brushwork. Even after enlargement, they are very clear, making you feel like the wings of a cicada in the real sense.

At the same time, you can see the three-dimensional and elastic abdomen and back inside, and even feel the vibration of the abdomen. Looking at this painting, I seem to hear the enthusiastic cicada singing. This is a cicada written by Qi Baishi, as vivid as his shrimp. Many painters have been painting animal landscapes all their lives. Although they paint cicadas in similar shapes, they are lifeless, just like painting a dead specimen.

Qi Baishi's paintings do not emphasize details, but emphasize an artistic conception. He himself said not to draw too carefully, it is easy to become rigid. So it makes sense that this painting can be sold at such a high price. Among the late artists in China, Qi Baishi's calligraphy is very popular, with an annual turnover of several billion, which is closely related to his artistic pursuit.

At that time, when this painting was auctioned, many netizens even thought that his painting was very long, but there was nothing special about pure meticulous painting, and Zen was not Qi Baishi's housekeeping skill, because he was best at painting shrimp, so many people found it unreasonable, but after such an explanation, they suddenly realized and marveled at the master's artistic attainments. China's painting and calligraphy art has always emphasized not the external form, but the internal artistic conception.