Sanyu

We authenticate, certify, issue certificates of authenticity (COA), appraise the value and broker the sale of paintings, prints, and drawings by SANYU.

Chinese French

Born: 1907, Nanchong, China.

Died: 1966, Paris, France, aged 58.

He spent most of his life in China and France. He also travelled several times to Germany.

Typical Subject Matter:

He is most renowned for his female nudes. He also extensively depicted landscapes and flora, as well as portraits of the people surrounding him. He has painted and drawn numerous still lifes, including flowers and branches in vases and fruit compositions, as well as animals, including cats and horses.

His nude studies are very numerous among the drawings he left, including an important series in ink and pencil on paper.

Typical Style:

He is renowned for his style often compared to Matisse’s late period. As such, he worked extensively in flat tints often outlined with darker lines. Most characteristically, his subjects are treated in a very flat manner, without any impression of depth. His subjects are often depicted in unrealistic and few colours, on monochrome, flat backgrounds.

His drawings somewhat resemble illustrations. There is no attempt at realism. He often drew the black outlines of his figures and motifs, and coloured certain elements inside those black lines, such as the women's skirts or their pink cheekbones, in watercolours.

Typical Material and Media:

He mostly worked in oil on either Masonite or canvas.

For his drawings, he extensively used watercolours and ink.

He has also produced an important number of prints, for which he used etching, lithograph and engraving on paper.

If you own a painting, a print, or a drawing by or attributed to Sanyu, we would like to learn about it. Please send us photos or contact us at [email protected]. You will generally receive a response within 24 hours.