Qiu Ti

After graduating from the Shanghai Art Academy in 1928, Qiu Ti studied abroad in Japan where she learned Post-Impressionist techniques and concepts.[3] In 1930, Qiu Ti returned to China and began blending the post-impressionist art techniques from Japan with the delicate art styles from China to create her own art style. Qiu Ti's style was more modern, challenged conservative concepts, and free-spirited.[4]

Most of Qiu Ti's artwork that were kept and preserved were oil paintings of landscapes or still life. In these paintings, the application of the paint is more precise than it may seem at first. The different shades of color used in the painting helps it look more realistic but simplified and light at the same time. Taking from the inspiration of post-impressionist techniques, her brushstrokes, which are short and round, are painted in a diagonal angle. The way Qiu Ti painted the middle ground in her artworks had a composition that was commonly used in traditional Chinese landscape paintings. The mixture of the Western brushstroke techniques and the Chinese landscape composition was Qiu Ti's painting style. It was uncommon for females to be well known for painting in the 1930s so Qiu Ti's mixture of Western and Chinese art was daring and unique.[5]

The still life that Qiu Ti painted seems like random common household objects put together at first glance. The items that were painted are a representation of Qiu Ti's domestic environment and her identity as a female in modern China. Her artwork consists of her own life and how it is affected by the world's expectation of females in China. Qiu Ti died in 1958.[6][7]

Today, Qiu Ti's artwork are being auctioned and have been successfully auctioned over the past years. The prices of her artwork can range from $27,582 to $877,682 depending on the medium used and the size of the artwork. In 2002, one of her artworks named Wild Chrysanthemums was sold in Beijing, China in an auction, which had a bid of $877,682.[8]