Sanyu.
Four works on paper and one watercolour work by Sanyu are on offer in our upcoming Hong Kong Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale. Below, discover what makes the unique artist so sought after by lovers of both Western and Asian art.
1. Sanyu was one of the earliest Chinese artists to study in Paris
Sanyu, Woman in Checkered Skirt. Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale Hong Kong.
Sanyu was born into a family of wealthy silk merchants in 1895 in Sichuan, China. He moved to Paris in 1921 and quickly immersed himself in the bohemian world of Montparnasse. He often spent his days at the café La Coupole, sketching and drawing on placemats. Today, he is celebrated as one of the most pioneering Chinese artists and is beloved for his fusion of Eastern and Western aesthetics.
2. Sanyu’s work becomes more celebrated with each passing year
Sanyu, Buste de femme de profil. Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale Hong Kong.
Sanyu has gained increasing recognition in recent years. Major exhibitions, such as the 2004 retrospective at the Musée Guimet in Paris, the 1988 exhibition Seven Chinese Painters Who Studied in France, 1918–1960 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and Legacy of 20th-Century Chinese Masters at the Musée Cernuschi in Paris, have solidified his status as a crucial figure in modern art.
3. Michel Habart was one of the earliest Sanyu collectors
Michel Habart (center) with Antoine Chen (right) and his wife in the exhibition of the Sanyu drawings collection of Michel Habart at Galerie l’Orient in Paris in 1984. Image: Courtesy Doris & Gilles Habart.
After Sanyu’s death in 1966, drawings discovered in his atelier were sent to the Hotel Drouot for auction. Michel Habart was among the earliest collectors to discover this body of work, and he was particularly drawn to Sanyu’s unique blend of Chinese sensibility and modernist minimalism.
The historical significance of Michel Habart’s collection is well-documented through a rich history of scholarly publications. In SANYU, His Life and Complete Works in Oil, Rita Wong notes Habart’s key role in reconstructing the life and art of Sanyu, including his exchanges with Sanyu’s friend Dahan and his later friendship with Antonine Chen. In the 1980s, Habart and Chen organized two exhibitions aiming to reintroduce the forgotten artist — first at Printmaker’s Gallery in Taipei in 1982 and later at Galerie l’Orient in 1984. Building upon Habart’s collection, Chen completed his monograph Une Chanson Nostalgique, which became the first book focused on Sanyu. These early efforts have laid important groundwork for today’s rediscovery of Sanyu and the rethinking of his profound artistic legacy.
Phillips is honored to present five drawings of Sanyu from the Collection of Doris & Gilles Habart, by descent from Michel Habart in our upcoming Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale.
4. Sanyu’s depictions of the human form are among his most celebrated works
Sanyu, Femme assise bras gauche en arriére. Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale Hong Kong.
While studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Sanyu wholeheartedly threw himself into figure drawing, focusing intensely on the human form, particularly the nude. This marked a significant departure from the conventions of his Chinese art education, in which the subject of the nude was considered taboo. Drawing from live nude models was an entirely new experience for him, and it proved fruitful — leading to his later nude paintings.
5. Sanyu’s drawings on paper stand out in his oeuvre
Sanyu, Femme debout de dos tete dans les bras. Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale Hong Kong.
Among Sanyu’s prolific output, his drawings on paper exemplify his stunning creativity in its most lighthearted and uninhibited form. For him, drawing was not merely a step toward mastering oil painting; rather, the idea of drawing from life attracted him as a new way of seeing, experiencing, and expressing. By 1929, Sanyu had created over two thousand such drawings, primarily of his most representative subject matter: the female nude.
Exhibiting a wide array of human bodies in varying poses and from different angles, Sanyu’s drawings vividly showcase the curiosity and excitement he felt as he forayed into new territory in Western art. It is also in his drawings that one can find his immediate response to various emerging trends in art at this historical turning point. His innovative forms show influences of Fauvism, Surrealism, and even photography, which were all revolutionizing the Parisian art scene in the 1920s.
6. Sanyu blurred the lines between Chinese ink painting and Western oil painting
Sanyu, Reclining Nude, with Raised Knee II, 1950s/1960s. Sold for HK$42,800,000. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong Evening Sale, November 2024.
Sanyu's nude paintings are celebrated for their unique blend of Eastern and Western artistic traditions. His bold, linear strokes, influenced by Chinese calligraphy, set his work apart. The “cosmic leg,” a signature feature of his nudes, exemplifies his innovative approach to Western subject matter. Sanyu’s later works, such as Reclining Nude, with Raised Knee II, showcase a deeper engagement with calligraphy, drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese script styles. Eschewing Western ideals of beauty and painterly texture, this work presents a simplified, almost calligraphic figure, evoking the aesthetics of Chinese ink painting.
7. Sanyu’s works explore philosophy
Sanyu, Femme debout de face saluant. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong Day Sale.
Taoist philosophy provides one of the crucial sources for understanding Sanyu’s practice. His pursuit of simplicity and the essential form led him to exaggerate, alter, and deconstruct the human figure. By reducing forms to their bare minimum, Sanyu aimed to reach a metaphysical level, evoking boundless implications beyond the physical. He once wrote to a friend: “Let me simplify and further simplify. And then, the painting is completed.” His words are almost a direct translation of the famous saying from Tao Teh Ching: “Great music has the faintest notes. The Great Form is without shape.”
Sanyu, Femme de 3/4 dessinant. Modern & Contemporary Art Hong Kong Day Sale.
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