SANYU 常玉 | FLEURS DANS UN POT BLEU ET BLANC 青花盆與菊

Important Works by Sanyu, Paris Period, Dimensions Art Center, Taipei, 1992, p. 42-43

Rita Wong, ed., Sanyu Catalogue Raisonné: Oil Paintings, Yageo Foundation and Lin & Keng Art Publications, Taipei, 2001, plate 148, p. 262

Pauline Kao, ed., In Search of a Homeland – The Art of San Yu, National Museum of History, Taipei, 2001, plate 97, p. 144 

Rita Wong, ed., Sanyu Catalogue Raisonné: Oil Paintings Volume II, The Li Ching Cultural and Educational Foundation, Taipei, 2011, plate 148, p. 133

Wang Chia-Chi, ed., Sanyu: A Pioneering Avant-Garde in Chinese Modernist Art, Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, 2013, p. 219

Sanyu: In a Reverie of Black, White, and Pink, Lin & Lin Gallery, Taipei, 2018, p. 225, 286

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〈常玉巴黎時期重要作品集〉（台北，帝門藝術中心，一九九二年），42至43頁

〈常玉油畫全集〉衣淑凡編（台北，國巨基金會及大未來藝術出版社，二〇〇一年），圖版148，262頁

〈鄉關何處：常玉的繪畫藝術〉高玉珍編（台北﹐國立歷史博物館﹐二〇〇一年）﹐圖版97，144頁

〈常玉油畫全集第二冊〉衣淑凡編（台北，立青文教基金會，二〇一一年），圖版148，133頁

〈常玉：中國現代主義藝術的先鋒〉王嘉驥編（台北，耿畫廊，二〇一三年），219頁

〈常玉：寄黑藏白醉粉紅〉（台北，大未來林舍畫廊，二〇一八年），225、286頁

Noble Blossoms in a Starry Night – Sanyu’s Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc

“I see his dreams in his potted flowers”

Xiong Bingming, excerpt from Potted Flowers – A Discussion of Sanyu’s Paintings

In the decades that Sanyu lived in France, there were periods when the artist reveled in the prosperity and beauty of Paris, and other times when the alienation and hardship of living weighed heavily on his spirit. Throughout his life, he remained true to himself by carving out a unique path and managing to preserve the joyful spiritual domain of artistic freedom. Its understated style is well known that Sanyu had loved painting flowers, and his early works were often elegant, beautiful and restrained, as if he were recounting a romantic dream. During his peak years, as the artist matured, the flowers in his paintings grew more vibrant, expressed in powerful brushstrokes, as if asserting Sanyu’s clear intention to return to his Eastern cultural origins. Thus, he created his brilliant and distinctive paintings of potted plants.

Sanyu created more than 130 flower paintings throughout his career, according to the Sanyu Catalogue Raisonné: Oil Paintings (Vol. I & II), with plum blossom, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo depicted most frequently. In particular, his chrysanthemum paintings compare in number with his world-famous female nudes. From 1930s to 1950s, under the fertile artistic soil cultivated by the artist, Sanyu’s chrysanthemums thrived and bloomed into the most enduring subject among his flower paintings. Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc (Lot 1015) stands as a masterpiece of this series. Among the current top ten auction records for the artist, six are paintings of flowers, of which four are devoted to the chrysanthemum. Out of these four, two were sold for more than HKD 100 million, a testament to the market’s keen interest in Sanyu’s oil paintings of flowers. 

“At the time, he seemed to be painting in earnest. The pots and vases of the flowers in these paintings…were those of Song ceramics or Ming blue-and-white styles, emanating his longing for the motherland.”

Shiy De-Jinn, excerpt from Sanyu - An Old Chinese Painter Sunk in Paris His Whole Life

Among Sanyu’s oil paintings of flowers, typically arranged in slender glass vases or growing in round pots, only ten are found in elegant blue-and-white porcelain pots. This style of porcelain references the literati spirit and suggests the prominent place this work had in the artist’s heart. The Taipei National Museum of History holds three of his paintings featuring blue-and-white porcelain in the museum’s permanent collection, making Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc a treasure of great rarity – exceptionally so in the hands of a private collector. Around the time Sanyu painted Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc, the artist also completed four oil paintings using white chrysanthemums, all connected in form, artistic concept, and perhaps origin, as it is believed that the works were all drawn from the same chrysanthemum plant in real life. Among these, Pot de chrysanthèmes, which depicts the flowers in a rectangular-shaped pot without blue-and-white decorations, is currently in the Taipei National Museum of History’s permanent collection. By comparison, the approach of expression in Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc appears to be more delicate and emotionally affecting.

While the vast majority of Sanyu’s oil paintings of flowers feature a two-color background, another exceptional feature of Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc is that it is the only of Sanyu’s work that employs a bold, highly contrasting indigo and peach-pink as the background. This creates an effect that makes the white chrysanthemums sparkle like stars in the night sky. The glamorous peach-pink base brings to mind Chinese folk art traditions, on which Sanyu was well versed, and simultaneously imbues a surreal, abstract sensibility – together giving the painting a truly unique and rare charm.

“I think Sanyu was himself a potted plant, an Eastern potted plant gracing the Parisian garden.”

Wu Guanzhong, excerpt from About Sanyu

The chrysanthemum has long been an important symbol in traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics. The chrysanthemum blossoms in mid-autumn, a quality that is considered noble and distinguished, setting it apart from other flowers. Sanyu, who was well-versed in traditional Chinese literature since a young age, of course understood the high aesthetic value of chrysanthemum. He would return to this theme particularly during the 1940s and ’50s, frequently depicting chrysanthemums perhaps to seek encouragement and reassurance in the flower’s gentlemanly spirit. Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc is not just a still-life painting but represents the artist’s own inner reflections.

In Fleurs dans un pot bleu et blanc, the composition evokes a night-time atmosphere in which a sense of life abounds, revealing the rich inner world of the artist. Against the night sky, the plant is lush and thriving, a branch shaped like a deer antler stands tall within a shallow and narrow blue-and-white flowerpot, reflecting the artist’s uncompromising spirit. The crisp section of peach-pink color at the base forms a level interface of a desk’s corner, asserting an element of geometric abstractionism. The white chrysanthemums, like fireflies or stars in a night sky, are set off by a warm and passionate color. The image of the flowers and the inner world of the artist become one, and a beautiful view of a potted flower at night invites the viewer to explore Sanyu’s aesthetic of life itself.

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「我在他的盆花中看見他的夢。」

熊秉明《「盆花」談常玉的畫》節錄

青瓷白菊・星夜映芳——常玉《青花盆與菊》珍罕獻世

常玉遠赴法國的數十載間，沉醉過花都巴黎的繁榮美好，亦慨嘆過凋零浮沉的異鄉時光，卻始終堅持於藝術之路上我行我素，惟盼能夠憑藉畫筆在絕處生花，謹守一片自由創作的精神樂土。常玉一生鍾情繪花，早年的花卉作品素雅淡麗，花瓣與花瓶都被包裹於淡如霧的粉色調裡，像是在訴說著一場愉悅人心的浪漫美夢；及至盛年，隨著藝術家的人生閱歷臻於成熟，畫中之花也迎來蛻變，色彩越見絢爛、筆意越趨蒼勁，回歸東方的意向也逐漸融入繁花、滲透枝頭，構成了常玉斑斕繁華的盆景百觀。

根據《常玉油畫全集》第一、二冊所載錄，常玉一共創作逾一百三十幅花卉油畫，多以摹寫中國傳統文人畫中常見的梅蘭菊竹，其中以菊花為主題的作品超過五十件，與常玉所聞名於世的裸女油畫數量相若，可見此題材在其創作全貌裡佔有極大比重。自三〇年代的初試啼聲、四〇年代的反覆錘鍊，至五〇年代的登峰昇華，菊花在藝術家筆下所建構的一片沃土上堅毅茁壯，歷久彌新，蔚為常玉畫花的經典之最，而本季登臨蘇富比現代藝術晚間拍賣之《青花盆與菊》（拍品編號1015），即屬此系列的巔峰之作。現時的常玉十大拍賣紀錄中，瓶花作品穩佔六席，當中四幅同為菊花主題，而其中兩幅菊花更以破億港元高額落槌，力證市場對於常玉花卉油畫的殷切渴求。《青花盆與菊》最初由巴黎著名畫商雷蒙・陶本奈珍藏，後由常玉主要的藏家尚・克勞德・希耶戴購藏，再輾轉經由台北帝門藝術中心為此菊畫尋回東方土地，見證了常玉作品遍及歐亞的重要收藏軌跡。本作神隱私人藏家手中逾十載後，如今再度面世，誠為藏家爭奪錦菊芳華的難得契機。

「他當時似乎在很勤地作畫，畫些花的盆景......花盆、花瓶、都是中國宋瓷或明朝青花的瓷器，畫上處處流露著對祖國的懷念。」

席德進《一生沈沒在巴黎的中國老畫家——常玉》節錄

綜觀一眾常玉瓶花油畫，有的在修長的玻璃瓶內濡養著、有的則在簡約平凡的圓盆裡挺拔生長，卻僅有十幅描繪花卉植株於雍容雅緻的白地青花瓷中，顯示藝術家對此尤為珍重，才會特意將如此富有文人情調與地位象徵的瓷器入畫，構成比其他常玉花卉油畫更富麗堂皇的景觀；其中三幅青瓷花卉，早已被台北國立歷史博物館永久收藏，《青花盆與菊》即是極少數仍在私人藏家囊中的珍稀瑰寶。在繪製《青花盆與菊》之前後，常玉亦創作過另外四幅以方盆白菊為題的油畫，畫中的造型意境彼此呼應，相信是以同一株白菊為描繪對象，從多角度展現了花開正盛的姿態變化；當中的《白菊》亦已進入台北國立歷史博物館館藏，該畫雖繪有方盆卻不帶青花，相較之下，《青花盆與菊》的表現手法則更細膩動人，堪稱媲美、甚或超越頂尖的國家級典藏。

此外，常玉絕大部分瓶花油畫都以兩色點綴背景，白牆粉地、紅牆黃案等，都是較常見的色彩組合，而《青花盆與菊》卻是唯一一件畫作大膽地選配了對比度強、且極富裝飾性的靛藍與桃紅色，襯托起顆顆白菊就如在夜空中閃爍的星辰；而華麗的嫣紅底部，一方面指向常玉所嫻熟的中國民俗工藝，另一方面則賦予畫面一種超現實的抽象意趣，展現獨特無雙的珍罕魅力，實在難以覓得與之相似相近的常玉經典花畫。

「我覺得常玉自己就是盆景，巴黎花圃裡的東方盆景。」

吳冠中《説常玉》節錄

菊花自古以來便是中國傳統文化美學裡一個重要的意象，它雖不及牡丹富麗，亦不比蘭花尊貴，卻因其於深秋盛開而聞名，比一眾鮮花更多了一層高雅傲雪、孤標峻節的精神象徵，博得歷代文人墨客大方讚頌，留下一曲曲借菊傳情的美詞。自東晉詩人陶潛寫下「採菊東籬下，悠然見南山」的名句，菊花便成了遠離塵俗的隱逸者之象徵；百花之中，唯獨秋菊迎霜綻放，不與群芳爭艷，引來杜甫尊敬地淺吟一句「寒花開已盡，菊蕊獨盈枝」，推崇菊花堅貞不屈的理想品格；唐代元稹又再寫一句「不是花中偏愛菊，此花開盡更無花」，確立菊花在中國文化裡的崇高地位。自幼飽覽詩書的常玉，自然了悟菊花如此豐富的東方審美價值，尤其到了四、五〇年代以後，已過不惑之年的藝術家頻頻繪菊，明顯是爲了借助菊花所隱喻的君子氣節自勵自勉，在畫中抒發孤芳自賞的情操，一洩懷才不遇的憤慨。由此解讀，《青花盆與菊》並非單純的一幅靜物作品，當中還蘊含著藝術家引以自況、托菊言志的深思。

《青花盆與菊》繪有潔白如玉的白菊八蕾，三朵恣意盛放、五顆含苞欲放，即使空間佈局有如夜裏賞花，亦能感受到生機處處，反映筆者的內心世界也定必也正處於源源釋放創造力的蓬勃狀態。在夜色背景下，繁茂枝葉映照出脫俗的湛藍光芒，並一層層地向上昇長，呈鹿角形的花枝伴隨著遒勁有力的筆法而挺拔上揚，聳立於不合比例地淺窄的青花盆中——如此景況，的確呼應了藝術家從未妥協、挫而不折的孤傲心境。底部的一抹桃紅，明確俐落地劃成書案一角的水平介面，不僅透現了西方幾何抽象的韻味，更成就了整體畫作的視覺平衡感，以富於熱情溫度的色彩，映襯著猶如星空流螢的白菊。於此，花之形象和常玉的精神世界融為一體，造就了永恆幽美的一幕夜色盆景，誠邀各方一探常玉的生命美學。