THROUGH THE EYES OF A DANDY
A new exhibition charts the work of avant-garde Chinese painter Chang Yu, who was at the forefront of Parisian artistic life during the hedonistic interwar years. Lin Qi reports.
As one of the first generation of Chinese artists drawn to study in France during the early 20th century, Chang Yu (1901-66) — often better known as Sanyu for his signature on paintings — was the epitome of nonconformity.
Many of Chang’s artistic friends aspired to study at the prestigious Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, such as Xu Beihong, one of China’s most prominent modern artists, and his then wife Jiang Biwei. Yet Chang, who had the reputation for being an idler, chose the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, which provided a less academic and more relaxing environment that attracted artists who sought freedom from rigid academic restraints.
During his time there, Chang polished his painting skills, especially through his depiction of female models. He painted many nudes, an undertaking which would have been considered immoral back in his home country at that time.
He also plunged himself into the enjoyment of France’s “crazy years”, a period marked by liberation and creativity in the aftermath of World War I. This artistic and cultural diversity nurtured a group of so-called “dandies.”
Chang became one of them and until his death he continued to live in Paris and retain the group’s attitudes toward art and life, despite suffering impoverishment and being overlooked by the art world in his later years.
Chang’s most carefree and happiest years were those spent at Grande Chaumiere. And the artworks he produced during this period are at the heart of an ongoing exhibition at the Tina Keng Gallery in Taipei.
Sanyu’s Hidden Blossoms: Through the Eyes of a Dandy, which runs until Sunday, plots his artistic development from his early beginnings at the Grande Chaumiere right through to his later works, which he created as he struggled with destitution and homesickness. He never returned to Chinese mainland and died alone in his studio following an accidental gas leak.
This is the seventh exhibition dedicated to Chang over the past 25 years held by Tina Keng, the gallery’s founder. She says she was first introduced to Chang’s work during her first visit to Paris about three decades ago.
“I was instantly taken by his hand and style,” Keng says. “Out of all the references to the dichotomy between East and West and amalgamating the two styles, Sanyu is a true pioneer that interplayed Eastern and Western concepts in such a unique and clever way that it set him apart.”
Explaining why she continues to focus on the Parisbased artist, Keng says that as time went by and more of Chang’s works came onto the market, she had the chance to add these paintings to subsequent exhibitions, allowing her to share with other collectors a deeper understanding of Chang’s character and the development of his oeuvre.
One of the earliest Chinese painters to become immersed in the real-life environment of Western art, Chang managed to blend the color schemes of oil painting and the modernist spirit growing in Europe with the brush strokes of traditional Chinese ink painting and the simple elegance of Chinese aesthetics.
Although Chang was a social figure — he enjoyed making new friends and attending parties — his works often conveyed a sense of detachment, mixing emotions of tranquility and aloofness with loneliness. His paintings often centered around a single subject matter, for example, a vase of blossoms against an empty backdrop, or a lone horse set against an expansive grassland.
He was born to a wealthy textile-making family in Nanchong, Sichuan province, and his elder brother spared no effort in sponsoring his studies abroad until the family business waned during the wars and chaos of the 1930s, Keng says. This family support allowed him to pursue art without being fettered by financial concerns and in the process helped him develop a sense of pride and defiance.
Keng adds that because Chang was brought up in a well-off environment, he received a comprehensive education in Chinese literature and the arts. He practiced refined calligraphy, he had a solid knowledge of literature, and in his later works, he incorporated elements from Chinese folk art and inscriptions from ancient Chinese stone and bronze tablets into his work.
She says a good understanding of both Chinese and Western cultures therefore enabled Chang to quickly adopt the bold, vanguard features of modernism in his creations, while naturally retaining the essence of his home culture — making him a unique exponent of the Chinese modern art movement.
Chang has been often compared with the JapaneseFrench artist Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita (18861968), because of his similar approach to blending styles from East and West.
“They were both influenced by Amedeo Modigliani,” Keng says. “Foujita’s works also feature brief, clean lines — but for me, I feel these lack emotion; Chang’s works are full of emotion, brought about by the cultural enhancement and history of the country he grew up in.”
Keng says the themes of reclusiveness, pride and homesickness conveyed by Chang’s works are likely to touch a chord with contemporary audiences dealing with the fast pace of urban life.
Sanyu is a true pioneer that interplayed Eastern and Western concepts in such a unique and clever way that it set him apart.” Tina Keng, founder of Tina Keng Gallery in Taipei