SANYU
His Life and Complete Works in Oil
Volume One
Sanyu: His Life and Works in Oil, Volume One, traces Sanyu’s life from his early years in China and Japan, to his artistic experimentation and development in Paris and New York, and ending in his tragic death, a Chinese artist in Paris, impoverished and forgotten. An examination of his life reveals that it was precisely the polarities and tensions Sanyu experienced that spurred him to create a unique pictorial language that so dynamically integrated the spirit of Western modernity with centuries-old established Chinese traditions. Sanyu metamorphosized from a Chinese artist of the modern period to a modernist with Chinese cultural roots. These intersecting dynamics resulted in a hybridization previously unseen.
Author: Rita Wong
Graphic Design: Glenn Suokko
Publisher: Hatje Cantz, Berlin
Printed in Italy
English, Chinese, French editions
248 pages, 300 illustrations, 33 x 27 cm, Hardcover
$115 USD
SANYU
His Life and Complete Works in Oil
Volume Two
Volume Two of Sanyu: His Life and Complete Works in Oil comprises the catalogue raisonné of the 321 known works in oil by Sanyu (Chang Yu, 1895–1966) on mirror, canvas, Masonite, board, or paper. A catalogue raisonné is a critical, comprehensive, and systematic compilation of the known oeuvre of a single artist in a given medium or combination of media. It prioritizes authenticity, supported by records of provenance, exhibitions, and publications. Conceived of in Europe in the eighteenth century, catalogues raisonnés have been compiled for most major Western artists by scholars, authorized foundations, family estates, and combinations thereof.
In Asia, the empirical and factual nature of the catalogue raisonné, in which provenance is carefully recorded, did not resonate with the traditional collecting ethos, which valued discretion and privacy. In addition, the nature of painting instruction, with pupils learning mostly by copying, their ability measured by how precisely they could reproduce a master’s original, made authentication difficult. Art was traditionally traded privately; the notion of an open market with public records was foreign and regarded by many as indiscreet and indecorous.
With the introduction of public auctions in Asia by leading international auction houses in the past decades, resulting in a wider interest in collecting art with the concomitant increase in prices, the need for a systematic study of artists’ complete oeuvres became apparent. In 2001, the first catalogue raisonné on a Chinese artist was published—Sanyu: Catalogue Raisonné, Oil Paintings. In the ensuing years, the Li Ching Foundation has dedicated its resources to collecting material and conducting extensive research not only on Sanyu but on other artists of the same era. Since 2011 the foundation has published five catalogues raisonnés—three on Sanyu, one on Pan Yu Lin, and one on Ting Yin Yung—placing Li Ching in the forefront of publishing catalogues raisonnés in Asia.
It is hoped that this catalogue raisonné, with contributions by collectors, scholars, expert imaging specialists, photographers, and scientists, will elevate the scholarship on Sanyu and enhance the understanding of his art, ensuring the continuation and wide dissemination of his legacy.
Author: Rita Wong
Graphic Design: Glenn Suokko
Publisher: Hatje Cantz, Berlin
Printed in Italy
English, Chinese, French in one edition
600 pages, 330 illustrations, 33 x 27 cm, Hardcover
$175 USD
