Qi Baishi (qí bái shí 齐白石) was born in 1863 in Xiangtan County, Hunan (hú nán 湖南) Province. In his early youth he was trained as a woodcarver and soon became a master in this discipline. Later he turned to painting, poetry, calligraphy and seal carving.

Starting to paint at a rather late age, Qi was compelled to experiment with new forms of art. He obsessively copied different features and motifs from the famous Qing Dynasty painting manual The Mustard Seed Garden. Qi experimented with many different forms and styles of painting both from China and the West. Under the strong influence of Xu Wei, Bada Shanren (bā dà shān rén 八大山人) and Wu Changshuo, he slowly started to develop a unique and more modern style of his own. Like the masters of the Qing who stressed the importance of subjective expression and a strong sense of individuality, Qi took this Xie Yi style, namely, painting ones feelings and mood rather than painting realistically, to new heights. Like the great masters which influenced his art, Qi Baishi's style and technique is classified as Da Xieyi, or 'Big' Xieyi. 

Xu Beihong (xú bēi hóng 徐悲鸿) (1895-1953) was an outstanding Chinese artist and educator of the fine arts. His works cover a wide range of styles and mediums, though he is best known for his horse paintings.