QI, Baishi - CHINESE FINE ART.

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Beijing Rongbaozhai xin ji shijian pu ("Fine Letter Papers From the Beijing Rongbaozhai Studio"). First edition of this exquisite collection of "letter papers" curated by the Rongbaozhai fine arts studio, containing several dozen works by Qi Baishi, one of the "Four Great Masters of 20th-century Chinese painting" (Perkins, p. 404), as well as examples by other prominent artists from the late Qing and Republican periods.Rongbaozhai's collections of letter papers - the name given to illustrated sheets designed and executed by literati to enhance their written correspondence - showcase the arresting work of leading practitioners of this art form. This, the second collection issued in the 1950s, exhibits Qi Baishi's fascination with insects, flowers, and birds, variably rendered in broad strokes or fine lines. Also included are pieces by Zhang Daqian, "the last great traditionalist of literati painting and an internationally acclaimed modernist, the most avant-garde of his generation" (Shen & Stuart, p. 15), alongside those by Xu Yansun (1899-1961), Wang Xuetao (1903-1982), Wu Guangyu (1908-1970), Wu Daiqiu (1878-1949), Wang Shizi (1885-1950), Pu Xinyu (1896-1963), Li Hechou (1891-1974), Chen Banding (1876-1970), and Tang Dingzhi (1878-1948).Founded in 1894 on the legacy of a studio dating back to 1672, Rongbaozhai treated books as works of art. Its publications employ decorative silk brocade cases, traditional Chinese bookbinding techniques, and xuan paper, long prized by artist

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