SANYU
His Life and Complete Works in Oil
Volumes One and Two
Explore this two-volume set—biography and catalogue raisonné—I designed for the Li Ching Foundation, Taipei. Presented in English, Chinese, and French editions and published by Hatje Cantz, Berlin.
About Sanyu
In 1921, Sanyu (Chang Yu, 1895–1966) was among many Chinese artists who left their homeland to study abroad. Choosing Paris, he enrolled at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, where he immersed himself in sketching nudes from live models—an experience wholly new to Chinese art. In these early ink drawings, Sanyu’s training in calligraphy is evident in the curvilinear assurance and fluidity of his line.
By 1929 he began painting in oils, often in black and white accented with delicate pinks. After World War II he traveled to New York, sharing an apartment and friendship with Swiss photographer Robert Frank. Through Frank he encountered the New York School—particularly Mark Rothko—and while he never embraced pure abstraction, Sanyu’s later work absorbed their sense of spacious color and atmospheric field.
He returned to Paris in 1950 and remained there until his death. He believed he could not grow as an artist elsewhere, though his Parisian years were marked by struggle and solitude. In August 1966 he died of accidental gas asphyxiation in his small studio. His paintings and drawings were subsequently sold in bulk at Hôtel Drouot for a fraction of their worth.
Today, Sanyu is recognized as one of the most sought-after modern Chinese painters. His Five Nudes sold for $150,000 in 1993 and resold for $33 million in 2019. Nude on Tapestry (illustrated above) realized $24 million in November 2023.
Volume One: His Life
Volume One of Sanyu: His Life and Complete Works in Oil traces the artist’s journey from his early years in China and Japan to his artistic development in Paris and New York, culminating in his tragic death in Paris—impoverished yet undaunted. It reveals how the polarities and tensions he faced fueled a distinct pictorial language that merged Western modernism with centuries-old Chinese traditions. Through this fusion Sanyu evolved from a Chinese artist of the modern period into a modernist with Chinese cultural roots—creating a hybrid vision previously unseen.
Author: Rita Wong
Graphic Design: Glenn Suokko
Publisher: Hatje Cantz, Berlin
Printed in Italy
Languages: English, Chinese, French
Specifications: 248 pages, 300 illustrations, 33 × 27 cm, hardcover
Volume Two: Complete Works in Oil
Volume Two comprises the catalogue raisonné of the 321 known oil paintings by Sanyu—on mirror, canvas, Masonite, board, or paper. A catalogue raisonné is a critical and systematic record of an artist’s work, establishing authenticity through documented provenance, exhibitions, and publications.
In Asia, this empirical approach to art documentation was once at odds with collecting traditions that valued privacy and discretion. Instruction based on copying further complicated questions of authorship. But as public auctions emerged and the art market expanded, the need for scholarly catalogues became urgent.
In 2001, the Li Ching Foundation published Sanyu: Catalogue Raisonné, Oil Paintings—the first such work on a Chinese artist. Since then Li Ching has produced five major catalogues raisonnés—three on Sanyu, one on Pan Yu Lin, and one on Ting Yin Yung—positioning it at the forefront of scholarly publishing in Asia.
This volume, realized through collaboration among collectors, scholars, imaging specialists, photographers, and scientists, advances the study of Sanyu and ensures the continuing dissemination of his legacy.
Author: Rita Wong
Graphic Design: Glenn Suokko
Publisher: Hatje Cantz, Berlin
Printed in Italy
Languages: English, Chinese, French (in one edition)
Specifications: 600 pages, 330 illustrations, 33 × 27 cm, hardcover
The Li Ching Foundation and Glenn Suokko
Founded in 1983, the Li Ching Foundation is one of Taiwan’s earliest private foundations supporting cultural and educational initiatives. In addition to providing scholarships in Taiwan and China, and through its sister organization—the Taipei American Educational Trust—in the United States, Li Ching has funded art, music, and library facilities throughout Shandong Province, home of its founder I Fu-En. Since 2005 the foundation has focused on creating online archives and publishing catalogues raisonnés of modern Chinese artists.
Rita Wong, chairperson of the foundation, is author of catalogues raisonnés on Sanyu (1895–1966), Pan Yu Lin (1895–1977), and Ting Yin Yung (1906–1978). Together we have collaborated on eight catalogue raisonnés, many of which are now out of print and highly collectible.
I designed Sanyu: His Life and Complete Works in Oil for the Li Ching Foundation—an ambitious two-volume publication documenting the life and complete oil paintings of the modern Chinese artist Sanyu (1895–1966). Collaborating closely with author Rita Wong and publisher Hatje Cantz, I sought to create a design that reflects Sanyu’s quiet modernity and refined balance between Eastern and Western aesthetics.