Sanyu (1901-1966)
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Sanyu, also known as Chang Yu, (1901-1966) was a Chinese modernist painter, printmaker, and calligrapher. He is most often compared with Henri Matisse.
Sanyu was born in Nanchong to a major silk production family. His brother, owner and manager of a silk factory, spent lots of funds on young Sanyu's art education, finding him tutelage in painting and calligraphy from the best teachers. He spent most of his time homeschooled due to his family's wealth, able to spend all of his time and resources devoted to his craft.
In 1921, he headed to Paris in order to continue his artistic pursuits. Shortly after arriving there, he decided to move with friends Xu Beihong and Jiang Biwei to Berlin in order to save on housing costs. Although his initial reasons for moving to Europe were purely artistic, Sanyu instead took up cooking, allowing his artistic output to dwindle in exchange for his culinary pursuits. However, his stay in Berlin did not last long and he returned to Paris in 1923. Back in France, he declined to study at the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts with many of his Chinese peers and instead opted to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. His love of art was rejuvenated when he discovered the art of figure drawing, attracted by the opportunity to study the nude figure. He applied his training in Chinese calligraphy to these nude portraits, rendering the bodies in ink using Chinese brush techniques.
During this time period, Sanyu's money supply began to run out. Money that came from his brother's silk factory came less frequently due to a downturn in the value of silk and Sanyu found himself running into money problems. He befriended Henri-Pierre Roché, a respected art dealer, in 1929. Roché liked Sanyu's drawings and decided to collect and sell his works. He also encouraged Sanyu to begin oil painting. However, as Sanyu's funds deteriorated, he constantly begged Roché for money until Roché, exasperated from the badgering, was forced to drop Sanyu and his art in 1932.
Although Sanyu lost contact with Roché permanently, the brief friendship did lead to a surge of popularity in his works. He began to dabble in printmaking using drypoint, something that Roché suggested to him in order to sell prints and generate extra revenue. His first oil painting was exhibited in 1930 under the watchful eye of Roché and now, without Roché's involvement, he found that exhibitions were hard to come by despite a rise in his popularity.
Sanyu moved to New York in 1948 in order to get a fresh start; he had recently taken up ping pong and decided to seek this fortune in America, vowing to give up painting forever. However, his vow did not last long. He moved in with photographer Robert Frank and they quickly became close friends. Sanyu's stay in New York didn't last due to a lack of funding and an inability to sell his paintings, so he returned to Paris in 1950, leaving all of his paintings to Frank as a gift.
Back in Paris, Sanyu encountered more difficulty in making a living off of his art. He continued to paint, scraping together a living through a combination of various commission jobs and ping pong. His artwork managed to survive in the market due to the revival of a Sino-French cultural exchange in which Chinese artwork and artifacts flourished in Paris. He lived a reclusive life, punctuated by visits from his friend from New York, Robert Frank. Unfortunately, in 1966, Sanyu died, poisoned from a gas leak in his apartment. Robert Frank eventually sold some of Sanyu's paintings in 1997 in order to establish the Sanyu Scholarship Fund at Yale University benefitting Chinese art students. More of his paintings are regularly displayed at the National Museum of History in Taipei, Taiwan.
Sanyu was born in Nanchong to a major silk production family. His brother, owner and manager of a silk factory, spent lots of funds on young Sanyu's art education, finding him tutelage in painting and calligraphy from the best teachers. He spent most of his time homeschooled due to his family's wealth, able to spend all of his time and resources devoted to his craft.
In 1921, he headed to Paris in order to continue his artistic pursuits. Shortly after arriving there, he decided to move with friends Xu Beihong and Jiang Biwei to Berlin in order to save on housing costs. Although his initial reasons for moving to Europe were purely artistic, Sanyu instead took up cooking, allowing his artistic output to dwindle in exchange for his culinary pursuits. However, his stay in Berlin did not last long and he returned to Paris in 1923. Back in France, he declined to study at the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts with many of his Chinese peers and instead opted to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. His love of art was rejuvenated when he discovered the art of figure drawing, attracted by the opportunity to study the nude figure. He applied his training in Chinese calligraphy to these nude portraits, rendering the bodies in ink using Chinese brush techniques.
During this time period, Sanyu's money supply began to run out. Money that came from his brother's silk factory came less frequently due to a downturn in the value of silk and Sanyu found himself running into money problems. He befriended Henri-Pierre Roché, a respected art dealer, in 1929. Roché liked Sanyu's drawings and decided to collect and sell his works. He also encouraged Sanyu to begin oil painting. However, as Sanyu's funds deteriorated, he constantly begged Roché for money until Roché, exasperated from the badgering, was forced to drop Sanyu and his art in 1932.
Although Sanyu lost contact with Roché permanently, the brief friendship did lead to a surge of popularity in his works. He began to dabble in printmaking using drypoint, something that Roché suggested to him in order to sell prints and generate extra revenue. His first oil painting was exhibited in 1930 under the watchful eye of Roché and now, without Roché's involvement, he found that exhibitions were hard to come by despite a rise in his popularity.
Sanyu moved to New York in 1948 in order to get a fresh start; he had recently taken up ping pong and decided to seek this fortune in America, vowing to give up painting forever. However, his vow did not last long. He moved in with photographer Robert Frank and they quickly became close friends. Sanyu's stay in New York didn't last due to a lack of funding and an inability to sell his paintings, so he returned to Paris in 1950, leaving all of his paintings to Frank as a gift.
Back in Paris, Sanyu encountered more difficulty in making a living off of his art. He continued to paint, scraping together a living through a combination of various commission jobs and ping pong. His artwork managed to survive in the market due to the revival of a Sino-French cultural exchange in which Chinese artwork and artifacts flourished in Paris. He lived a reclusive life, punctuated by visits from his friend from New York, Robert Frank. Unfortunately, in 1966, Sanyu died, poisoned from a gas leak in his apartment. Robert Frank eventually sold some of Sanyu's paintings in 1997 in order to establish the Sanyu Scholarship Fund at Yale University benefitting Chinese art students. More of his paintings are regularly displayed at the National Museum of History in Taipei, Taiwan.