During the summer of 1948 or 1949, I met Sanyu in Paris at a friend’s house. He looked fifty years old, had a strong built, and was wearing a red shirt. In those days in Paris it was quite uncommon to see a man wearing a red shirt. He seemed confortable but no more. He hardly ever spoke of art, but rather about his way of life, declaring that he wanted to be where he felt at ease. In fact perhaps he would go to the USA or maybe return from there only. I have the impression that he is a vagabond who does not live in a set place.

I had heard about Sanyu and had been told he was an unlucky person. So every time an opportunity arose to see his work in Paris, I focused my attraction to look at them well. His oil paintings do “represent” like ink paintings do, but his shapes and colors are more in accordance with a modern concept of western style. I saw a few works painted in black on mirrors, on which he had scratched with clear and bright lines.

Paris was a Mecca for the artists, attracting the faithful from all over the world. The artists liked coming to Paris in order to elevate themselves. Arriving in this flourishing city, it was easy to let oneself go into a romantic life “After several years of filling oneself with fanciful dreams, one’s acquire only f false reputation”. Nevertheless this atmosphere allowed the lives and thoughts of the artists residing in Paris during the twenties to unfold.

In Paris it was the French or Europeans artists who became famous. They all grew in an environment of western culture. The artists, such as the Spaniards Picasso and Miro, the Italian Modigliani, the Russian Chagall etc., had almost the same culture as the French. These cultures are really similar to the French. When the Orientals arrived in Paris, their situation was completely different. they really had to work hard at being accepted, and even so the way of thinking between Orientals and French remained totally different. an artist raised in the East and who wanted to make it in Paris, had to take on the risk of psychological contradictions, deeply affecting his mind. During the twenties Sanyu the Chinese, and Foujita the Japanese were the only Orientals drawing attention in the art world.

During the forties, I was in Paris where I saw the paintings of Foujita. I believe that his paintings, plastic as like some engravings, lacked feeling and meaning. They are not moving. Is it that the Parisian knew only superficially oriental art or is it that the art dealer knew how to market his work in order to feed the curiosity of the public for Oriental art?

Foujita was made famous. Sanyu instead was sensitive, stubborn and had taste. Not knowing how to seize the opportunities and because of his carelessness, he was unhappy throughout his life.

During the twenties and thirties, his works were exhibited on several occasions at the Salon d’Automne and Salon des Indépendants. They drew attention from the art world. Paul Valéry, a well-known poet, had written a preface specially for the illustrations drawn by Sanyu in an edition of Poemes de Tao Ts’ien. The renowned collector: Roché, had started to collect the works of Sanyu. The name of Sanyu was included in the biographical dictionary listing the contemporary artists between 1910 and 1930. But in spite of all that, Sanyu did not benefit from these occasions to show his talents.

According to some information, Sanyu was born into a rich family. He arrived in Paris in 1921 as a student-worker. His older brother was sending him money, so he was never worried or concerned about making a living. He concentrated only on his art. When his brother died the assistance stopped. He lived in poverty and became a sort of vagabond artist. The 3rd of August 1966, Sanyu died asphyxiated by gas in his apartment.

During the twenties or thirties the works of Sanyu were brilliant. His principal colors were pale white, pale rosy, pale yellow-ochre; on top of them one could see little black dots which embodied the spirit of his paintings. This attracted people’s attention.

In order to harmonize as well as distinguish the subtle nuances between his colors he traced out pale and elusive lines between them. In one of his works, a nude woman in pink had black hair and black shoes and there was also a black cat.

Sometimes, in order to emphasize the contrast, he drew a large and black piece of clothing. And even at times, the usual pale colors of a vase or a bowl of fruit were painted in black. The choice of colors depended on his mood. For example, he would paint a vase black so as to highlight the pretty flowers. A cat on a chair, licking a plate or catching a butterfly; a small deer with eyes and mouth in black; a leopard, stretching. All his characters, flowers and animals were diving as (though?) into a charming dream of rose. One could perceive the traces of the ink on the white sheet of China paper.

Sanyu had without doubt learned Chinese calligraphy during his youth; he would never forget this Chinese trait. Although he was living in Paris, Sanyu was still fascinated by the traditional black lacquer of China. During the fifties and sixties he took a fancy to this color. He sketched flowers, tigers, leopards or nude women on a black background as if he would have traced them out on a light background. Then the lines he drew had a metallic sharpness and were not delivering anymore a sweet dream, but rather the blow of a whip.

There is a great variation of nuances in his oil paintings. From black to white in different shades, Sanyu knew how to take advantage of the qualities of oil, adopting the western style of color separation. But he was only using some combined colors to harmonize black and white.

His colors were not playing a symphony but a music with flute like tones. On plain backgrounds, the lines draw the attention of the onlookers. Sanyu used the lines to define the space and also reveal his feelings. The full extension of these lines, advertised his stubbornness, but sometimes this obstinacy became anarchic. There were some portraits whose descriptions were exaggerated, this revealed weakness.

His knowledge of calligraphy allowed him to sketch a human body with only one stroke. He had also learned traditional Chinese painting. Chinese painting and calligraphy are related, and it is for this reason that his paintings had spirit.

While looking at the works of Sanyu, we may recall Chou Ta (1625-1705), a famous painter of the Ming period. In Sanyu’s works there are impressive differences between the proportions of birds and isolated animals, and also between long and short lines.

His lines demonstrate pride, eccentricity, isolation, joy and sadness. Cheng So-Nan who in his time remained faithful to the Song Emperor, drew at the beginning of the Yuan dynasty* orchids with bare roots. He had painted the roots to indicate that there was no more soil to plant, that homeland was disappearing.

Pan Tien-Sho had also painted an orchid with its roots, but with a dedication: “As they have no soil left, the naked roots suffer the wind and the rain.” At this time the Japanese had already invaded China and the nation was in ruins.

Professor Pan perhaps felt the same as Cheng So-Nan or perhaps he was simply fond of the prolongation of the lines from the leaves to the roots.

Chou Ta felt lost when the Ming dynasty was destroyed. He isolated himself but remained all the same in his country. Although his works are peculiar and show bitterness, they still display the distinctive features of his native land.

Sanyu was a vagabond, away from his native land. Most of his friends were westerners. He said “even as a beggar, I will never go back to my country”. It was as if he was breaking his ties with his native land. On the contrary his works expressed the love for a homeland, embodied in the seeds of art, growing day after day. Sanyu is one of these literary and nostalgic artists.

Sanyu painted a many of potted plants. Either a small plant in a large pot, or a blossoming one in a small pot. One finds the spirit of lacquer and paper cut-outs from the Chinese popular art n his composition of branches and foliage. Sanyu transformed the nostalgia of Chou Ta and the agreement of Chinese folk art into modern western painting. His charming works deeply touched the spectators. Maybe that is the reason why westerners were attracted by Sanyu.

Sometimes, Sanyu painted these potted plants with an abundance of flowers, full of vitality. Sometimes one could detect sadness, faded branches, but that also was remarkable. His compositions were characterized by their perfect shapes. Such a small pot for such a dense foliage, a plant growing on so little soil, is maybe the sign of a vagabond. Sanyu was very sensitive to things and the environment, maybe because they shared an unhappy fate. So I think that Sanyu is like a Chinese potted plant in a Parisian garden.

There were many potted plant in Paris, coming from all corners of the world. They all wanted to become famous. La Grande Chaumière, an art school for amateurs, is well known in Paris. People from everywhere came to Paris to study art. Adventurers and artists gathered there along with poor French artists. There were old ones, oddly dressed young girls, different races and skin colors. They talked French with all sorts of accents. A number of well-known artists, such as Friesz, Bourdelle, Giacometti and Zadkine were teaching or working there. The Chinese artists in Paris, like Sanyu, Pan Yu-Liang, Wu Dayu and Pang Xunqin often visited this school. It was at the Grande Chaumière that or the first time they showed their paintings.

They thought that Paris was a cradle for art, like a green house for plants. But most of these plants dried up, these artists did not become famous. Many artists came to Paris, but most of them had no success. One continued to grow plants, but they withered almost by themselves. If a few were still alive, they had to be transplanted on the French soil and still, suffer the harsh trial of growth.

Lin Fengmian and Wu Dayu, as sensitive artists as Sanyu, studied in Paris during the same period, and then went back to their native land. There in Paris they could feel the heat, the cold, and the four seasons. But actually they did not find the heat and the coldness they longed for. Even if they felt a genuine love foe their fatherland, there were too many obstructions during this terrible period and they suffered like martyrs for the fatherland. They went through purgatory before becoming famous. They are like huge pine trees growing in rock crevices, without nourishing soil. A large pine can never grow in a pot. Thus we can say that they were “patriotic artists” distinct from “nostalgic artists” and that through waves of hardship they completed their own masterworks.

Sanyu remembered his distant land and that inspired him to paint. But his memories became more and more abstract and haunted him throughout his life. When Foujita returned to Japan, the Japanese honored him as a national treasure since he was a well-known artist in Paris. As for Sanyu he was too poor to buy art supplies. The poor quality of the materials he used became a characteristic of his works. He benefited from a friendship with Franco, the Dutch musician, but the French forgot about him. Fortunately, forty of his paintings were borrowed for an exhibition in Taiwan, but for unknown reasons it was canceled and the works remained at the National Museum of History in Taiwan.

After his death, some Taiwanese remembered Sanyu who disappeared in a foreign country into isolation. They appreciated his works and traveled to Paris to collect them. Recently the works of Sanyu have become favorites with galleries and auction houses.

It is said that if Van Gogh was restored to life and could see the prices fetched by his works, that would all over again drive him crazy.

Every time, it is after the death of somebody that we discover his talents and hold him as an outstanding individual. The Chinese pay homage to a talented man only appreciated after his death, “Go to paradise without regrets”. As soon as a man dies, he has no more meaning. We always learn from history, but why must it be that each time intelligent people wake up while paying so dearly?

Lou Xun said “Tragedy lies in the fact that we destroy valuable things and then show them to the public”. The tragedy will never end, there will always be another tragedy making its appearance.

*note from the editor
Dynasty Song 960AD-1279AD
Dynasty Yuan 1279AD-1368AD