Sanyu

executed in the 1950s

Frederico Cappelin, Paris (acquired directly from the artists)
Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 24 October, 2005, lot 771 
Acquired directly from the above sale by the present owner 

Rita Wang, ed., Sanyu Catalogue Raisonné: Oil Paintings Volume II , The Li Ching Cultural and Educational Foundation, Taipei, 2011, pl. 261, p. 68

This work is overall in very good condition. There is no sign of restoration under UV examination.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Humour of Life

Translating ‘humour’ as youmo in Chinese, Lin Yutang wrote that ‘humour is a state of mind. Taken one step further, it is a worldview and an attitude towards life… In every period of history, when humans become aware of the emptiness of their own existence, their insignificance and stupidity, and their contradictions, a great humourist has emerged.’ Humour is different from comedy and satire in that while it makes people laugh, it also conveys wisdom or unusual insight. Sanyu’s Nu (Lot 1020) is a truly humourous work of art.

Nu dates from the 1950’s, when Sanyu had been painting nudes for over two decades. He captured the contours of human figures in calligraphic lines and exaggerated them, developing an oeuvre that is not recognizable around the world. The present painting goes on step further, demonstrating Sanyu’s unusually sensitive observation and presentation of the female figure. The nude is seated leaning backwards, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her face is concealed by her limbs, but she reveals the most private part of her body to the viewer in a frank and almost confrontational manner, thanks in part to the horizontal perspective Sanyu adopts. Interestingly, although this painting is highly erotic, it has no trace of pornography because her genitalia are rendered as a simple exclamation mark. This witty touch is full of metaphorical suggestion. From time immemorial, the Muse has been a figure of artistic inspiration, and erotic attraction to the female body has incited countless flights of creative imagination. The exclamation mark that Sanyu uses here is at once blatant and subtle, a riddle and an answer, and ingeniously anticipates the viewer’s own surprise at the work. This painting would later inspire a near-identical composition in at a larger scale (124 x 100 cm).

The eroticism of Nu did not come about suddenly. If we compare it to the Sanyu works from the 1920’s and 30’s presented in Ineffable Beauty, Sotheby’s special feature on this autumn’s Modern Asian Art Day Sale, we find that Nu is bolder and less inhibited, with a playful treatment of the female body. In 1866, Gustav Courbet painted a vagina in L’Origine du monde, which today is in the collection of the Musée D’Orsay. Sanyu’s painting is in some ways its conceptual heir, and is in its own way an art historical classic. Here Sanyu’s assuredness of his personal vision, carefree expressionism, and humour are evidence of his artistic and psychological maturity. 

The American composer Serge Tcherepnin, who did Sanyu, recollected that ‘[Sanyu] showed me his paintings and explained that his art was a perpetual quest for the perfect line, never artificial, moving and sinuous lines which seem to breath and move with a life of their own.’ Evidently, the line was the essence of the artistic language that Sanyu spent a lifetime honing. As a Chinese working in the world Western modern art, his reliance of the calligraphic line was no doubt an expression of his cultural roots. The thick, substantial outlines of Nu, executed in a carefree manner without hesitation, are strongly reminiscent of East Asian calligraphy. They showcase the viscosity of oil paint on canvas. Sanyu’s traditionally-informed modern lines were celebrated already in the 1930’s: In 1933, the news weekly De Groene Amsterdammer reported, ‘In his drawing, the great control of lines, which are drawn with a steady hand and sensitive inflections, are also evident; the simple rhythmical lines which the Chinese calligrapher/painter revers above everything else, all through the centuries.’ L'écriture du Corps, the title and theme of the Musée Guimet’s major retrospective of Sanyu’s work of 2004, was an acknowledgment of the central importance of human figures in his art.

Nu belonged originally to the architect Fredericao Cappellin, a good friend of Sanyu’s in his later years who purchased a number of his works to support him financially. The appearance of this painting on the market at present recalls their warm friendship.