Chang Yu aka Sanyu (1895-1966), Panther

Chang Yu said Sanyu was born in China in the province of Sichuan. Coming from a cultured background, he belonged to a generation of artists who turned to the West around 1920. After a stay in Japan, Sanyu went to Europe in 1921. He settled in Paris where he lived mainly until his death in 1966. Sanyu, whose work has been rediscovered since the 1980s, is today one of the most famous representatives of modernity among Asian artists active in France in the 20th century.

Sanyu became famous for his representations of the female body, whose anatomical transformations are part of a deployment of the imagination often close to surrealism. Animal subjects are nevertheless frequent in his work. Horses and felines dominate this bestiary. The artist often depicted panthers and leopards using the techniques most familiar to him, such as oil painting and ink drawing. Exceptionally, he also uses sculpture or engraving. This is the case for this work, where Sanyu describes the characteristic profile of the animal with a supple line reminiscent of the brisk outline of a Chinese brush.

Cartel:

Chang Yu aka Sanyu (1895-1966)
Panthère
Xylography
24,4x35 inch
CM 2010-7

Gift of the Society of Friends of the Cernuschi Museum, 2010

Photo credit :