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齐白石是二十世纪中国最负盛名、最具创造力和影响力的艺术大师，他集诗、书、画、印于一身，堪称近现代中国画坛的集大成者。齐白石的艺术既得文人画之精髓，又融汇民间艺术之质朴，以雅俗共赏的形式真切表达出中国人民的思想感情，更以一生笔耕不辍的探索诠释了中国传统文化的厚度与高度。齐白石一生经历晚清、民国和新中国三个时期，经由一介雕花木匠成为一代艺术巨匠的传奇人生。1953年，文化部授予齐白石“人民艺术家”的荣誉称号；1956年，世界和平理事会授予齐白石1955年度国际和平奖金；1957年5月14日，北京中国画院（今北京画院）成立，齐白石担任名誉院长。白石老人去世后，家属遵照他的遗愿，将家藏的齐白石作品、物品及收藏捐献给国家，并划归北京画院收藏。北京画院不但是齐白石作品收藏最多的机构，更是研究、展示、推广齐白石艺术的重镇。
苏州博物馆为江浙地区书画收藏与研究的中心，近年来推出的明代吴门画派、清代藏家系列学术特展引人瞩目，成绩斐然。苏州博物馆与北京画院有着良好的合作基础，馆院之间互通有无、资源共享，并共同签署了战略合作协议。两家机构曾于2017年、2018年联手推出“妙造自然——于非闇绘画作品展”、“百年守素——陈半丁书画作品展”等专题展览，从工笔与写意的角度聚焦二十世纪北京画坛花鸟画艺术特色与发展。今年，苏州博物馆与北京画院再次联手合作，策划推出“花好年丰——北京画院藏齐白石艺术精品展”，同样将策划重点着力于齐白石的写意花鸟画，使观众在欣赏齐白石艺术的同时，对近现代北京画坛的花鸟画形成更加全面的认识。
齐白石一生对和平宁静的生活充满着向往和热爱，作品中常常流露出最本真的赤子之心。老人曾于晚年书写联语“月圆天宝，花好年丰”，表达自己对佳年良景的美好祈愿。在新冠疫情影响下，跌宕起伏的2020年即将步入岁尾。为此，苏州博物馆与北京画院特借齐白石“花好年丰”联语为展览主题，在即将到来的新春佳节之际，向所有的观众送上最美好的祝福与祈愿。
苏州博物馆 北京画院
二〇二〇年十二月
Qi Baishi’s Works of Art from Beijing Fine Art Academy
Foreword
Qi Baishi was the most prestigious, creative and influential master of art in China in the 20th century. He was good at composing poetry, calligraphy, painting and carving seals, making him a master of modern Chinese painting. Qi Baishi’s works of art have benefited from the essence of literati painting, and also integrated the unadorned folk art into it. He tried to express Chinese people’s feelings and thoughts in a way popular with the intellectuals and general public, and explored the profound traditional Chinese culture with lifetime efforts. Qi Baishi experienced three periods in his life, from the late Qing dynasty to the Republic of China until the founding of the P.R.C., tuning from a carpenter to a genius of art. Qi Baishi was awarded as National Artist by Ministry of Culture in 1953 and International Peace Prize (1955) by World Peace Council in 1956. On 14th May 1957, China Painting Academy of Beijing (now Beijing Fine Art Academy) was established, with Qi Baishi as honorary director. After his death, his family followed his will and donated his works, daily items and collections to the government, later incorporated into Beijing Fine Art Academy, which owns the largest collection of Qi Baishi’s works and plays an important role in research, display and promotion of his art.
As a center for collection and research of calligraphy and painting in and around Jiangsu and Zhejiang province, Suzhou Museum has made remarkable achievements in recent years and attracted much attention by hosting series academic exhibitions on Wu School in the Ming dynasty and Suzhou collectors in the Qing dynasty. Suzhou Museum and Beijing Fine Art Academy have laid a solid foundation for collaboration. They have signed a strategic agreement to strengthen cooperation and share resources. They have co-hosted Yu Fei’an’s painting exhibition and Chen Banding’s calligraphy and painting exhibition in 2017 and 2018 respectively, with a focus on artistic features and development of flower and bird paintings in the 20th century Beijing painting circle from the perspective of fine brushwork and freehand brushwork. Suzhou Museum and Beijing Fine Art Academy have joined forces once again this year to host Qi Baishi fine art exhibition. It will focus on Qi Baishi’s freehand flower and bird paintings, so that the audiences will have a more comprehensive understanding of flower and bird paintings in modern Beijing when they appreciate his works of art.
Qi Baishi loved and yearned for peace for all his life. Utter innocence could be detected from his works. He used to write a couplet in his later years to express wishes for a good and prosperous year. The year of 2020 full of ups and downs due to COVID-19 is coming to an end. In celebration of the upcoming Spring Festival, Suzhou Museum and Beijing Fine Art Academy would use the couplet as the exhibition theme, to send best wishes and blessings to all audiences.
Suzhou Museum & Beijing Fine Art Academy
December, 2020
