Vase of Flowers in Blue

Part of the first generation of Chinese artists who studied in France, Sanyu is internationally renowned for his nudes, sketches, and floral paintings. He painted this work while living under difficult conditions in his later years. The painting combines the ever-shifting lines of Chinese calligraphy with the bold simplicity of early modernist forms, epitomizing the flower works he painted throughout his life. There are only six known paintings in Sanyu’s Flower and Vase series that feature a Prussian blue background, making this work all the more precious.