Sanyu: His Life and Complete Works in Oil

The definitive documentation of hundreds of oil-based works on various supports by the artist often dubbed the "Chinese Matisse".

Volume two of Sanyu: His Life and Complete Works in Oil comprises the catalogue raisonné of his 321 known works in oil on mirror, canvas, Masonite, board and paper. Sanyu's compositions are a thoughtful blend of Western art traditions he was exposed to in Paris and traditional formal qualities of Chinese art. His reclining nudes with elongated bodies are rendered in Fauvist-like swaths of color. Meanwhile, his still lifes of flowers in vases employ the rectangular format of calligraphy drawings while making use of brighter, contrasting hues. Other works include his playful compositions of animals, such as goldfish floating in a glass jar or horses frolicking against a black landscape. With recent sales of Sanyu's works numbering in the tens of millions, this catalogue raisonné, together with the biographical first volume, is a necessary guide for collectors, critics and art aficionados.