博
Artist: Bai Jiao (1907-1969)
Date: Modern
Dimensions: Height 92.5 cm, Width 28.0 cm
Material: Ink on paper
Bai Jiao (1907-1969), also known by his zi (designated name) Yuanxiang and hao (literary names) such as Yunjian Jushi and Fu Weng, was a native of Jinshan (in present-day Shanghai). Born into a scholarly family, he excelled in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. He served as a painter at the Chinese Painting Academy in Shanghai and was a member of the Shanghai Calligraphy and Seal Carving Research Society. His free-spirited and unrestrained style follows the Wei-Jin manner. He was especially skilled in painting orchids, infusing his brushwork with sensibility to create elegant, graceful forms. Along with Shen Shijia's bamboo and Gao Yehou's plum blossoms, Bai's orchids were celebrated as one of the "Three Unrivaled" of the time. In this painting, the orchid leaves are arranged with a natural rhythm—yielding and interacting with measured spacing—while the ink tones shift subtly from deep to light, conveying an air of effortless grace and vitality.
