Aguttes auction house will offer for sale on March 11th in Paris a rediscovered masterpiece by the artist Sanyu: Potted peonies in a blue and white jardiniere. This masterpiece, estimated between €2,500,000 and €3,500,000., is part of the Asian Painters auction (24), lot N°1.
For more information about this painting please refer to the dedicated offprint
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SANYU (1901-1966)
Potted peonies in a blue and white jardiniere, 1950s
Oil on hardboard, signed lower right
43 1/4 x 31 3/8 in.
PROVENANCE:
-Collection Comtesse Matilde Locatelli, Calle Recoletos, 13, Madrid, Spain. Acquired directly from the artist.
-Collection Xavier Regas Pages in Barcelona on 18 May 1971. By descent, offered by the latter.
-Private collection, Spain. Acquired from the latter on 14 April 1990.
-Private collection.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Sanyu, catalogue raisonné : oil paintings. Rita Wong. Lin & Keng Art Publications, 2001 p262, n°148 repr. et p 264, n°150 (pour des oeuvres en rapport)
Estimate: €2,500,000-3,500,000
Aguttes is pleased to announce the auction of a masterpiece by renowned Chinese painter Sanyu (1901-1966). The painting is from a private collection assembled from the late 1930s and was acquired directly from the artist in the late 50s. It has remained in the hands of the heirs of the original owner, Comtesse Locatelli until April 1990 when bought by a Spanish private collector who kept it until recently. This painting stands as a major piece in Sanyu’s career, for it highlights one of his favourite themes – potted flowers –, its bright and contrasting colours and its size. Potted peonies in a blue and white jardinière, unseen for 70 years, is estimated between €2,500,000 and €3,500,000.
Sanyu was born in 1901 in a province of Sichuan and showed great talent for art from an early age. His father encouraged his creativity and enabled him to take calligraphy lessons with Zhao Xi, an outstanding scholar at the prestigious Hanlin Academy. Keen on learning about the Western avant-garde, he moved to Paris in 1923. There, he was captivated by the incandescent art scene and quickly sought to reinterpret traditional Chinese painting.
He attended classes at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, an avant-garde academy that encouraged the freedom of creative expression. Its students included several famous Western artists, such as Amedeo Modigliani and Alberto Giacometti. He was a brilliant with an inquisitive mind and formed connections with numerous figures of his time.
Within the environment of the École de Paris, he learned to combine aspects of his traditional Chinese education in calligraphy with the foundations of Western modernism, developing a style that united both the Eastern serenity and Western aesthetics. Largely influenced by Fauvism, he adopted its principles of composition and colour while integrating subjects from the Chinese culture into his work. In line with a long Asian pictorial tradition, he painted flowers in pots, vases or baskets. The result was an uncluttered, serene style where the simplicity and fluidity of line and gesture captured the essence of his subject.
Public auction
Drouot - Saleroom 2
Wednesday 11 March – 2:30pm
Public exhibition
Aguttes - 164 bis avenue Charles de Gaulle - Neuilly-sur-Seine
From 24 February to Thursday 5 March - 10am/1pm and 2pm/6pm
except on Friday afternoon and on Week-end
Public exhibition
Drouot - Saleroom 2
Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 March – 11am/6pm
Wednesday 11 March – 11am/12pm
Expert : Charlotte Reynier-Aguttes • reynier@aguttes.com • +33 (0)1 41 92 06 49
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