‘Sanyu and the Belle Époque’ showcases rarely seen sketches and watercolors of Sanyu, rendered in a realistic Modernist style by the brush pen. Most of these works, created after he arrived in Paris in the 1920s, provide a window into his nascent style that later matured into a 40-year practice. Nude female models and people on the street were his constant source of inspiration. His subject matter reflected his unruly personality and artistic choices – he refused formal academic training, and frequented the famed Grande Chaumière, where he rubbed shoulders with artists from different countries. Uninhibited by academic rules, Sanyu developed a unique use of lines and brushstrokes that blended with the freehandedness of Chinese ink painting.
Chinese-French Sanyu (1901 – 1966) is considered an early leader of Chinese Modern Art. In the 1920’s, he studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and is sometimes referred to as ‘the Chinese Matisse’. His work has been seen in multiple international exhibitions and 42 of his paintings are housed at The National Museum of History in Taipei.
常玉和美好年代」展出常玉的珍稀速寫畫作和水彩畫，
以毛筆勾劃出寫實的現代主義風格。是次展出的大部分
作品均出自常玉於二十世紀二十年代初抵巴黎後的創
作，讓我們得以一窺奠定其往後 40 年創作事業的初始
風格。裸女模特兒和街頭人物一直都是他的靈感泉源，
他的創作主題反映出他不羈的性格與藝術取態——他拒
絕接受正規的學院訓練，反而頻繁進出著名的巴黎大茅
舍藝術學院（Grande Chaumière ，與來自世界各地的
藝術家切磋交流。常玉不受學術理論所規範，發展出獨
特的線條與筆觸的運用，並融入中國水墨畫的「寫意」
神髓。
法籍華裔藝術家常玉（1901 – 1966）被視為早期中國
現代藝術的先鋒。上世紀二十年代，他於法國巴黎大茅
舍藝術學院習畫，有「中國的馬諦斯」 the Chinese
Matisse）的稱號。他的作品常於各大國際展覽會上展
出，其 42 幅畫作更被位於台北的國立歷史博物館收藏。
