Xu Beihong、Lin Fengmian、Liu Haisu
Who were among the first to study abroad under work-study program
All returned to China
Except for one
And that was Chang Yu 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,160 I find Chang Yu was the only one
Among the first generation of (Chinese) oil painters and western painters
Who was the leading figure in the world art trend
Chang Yu was born in a well-off family in Sichuan in 1901
He went to France in 1920.
The affluent living condition
Allowed him to do art as he wished
He didn’t go to an regular art school like others
Instead he sketched and painted in independent studios filled with vagrant artists
Or in cafes
He married a daughter of a French nobleman
He was a lifelong friend of Giacometti
He loved painting naked women at the early years
He boasted to Hsu Chih-mo
That the seemingly ragged sofa in his room
Received at least one or two hundred beauties
And Hsu said he painted legs all across the universe
Unfortunately, the leisurely life didn’t last too long
His family declined when he was nearly 30
In the following 30 years
He lived in poverty
He even worked as a decorator and a cementer for living.
But it was just during the period that he formed a mature art style
Obstinate and unruly as he was
He laid out rules with buyers
Pay first and don’t watch while he’s painting
Take the painting upon finishing and advice is not welcome
That’s to say, his poverty in the late years
Was chosen by himself
There was a retrospective exhibition of Chang Yu in March at Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei
Under the theme of “Sanyu’s Hidden Blossoms: Through the Eyes of a Dandy”
That is the most comprehensive exhibition of Chang Yu’s works ever in history
Everyone wants a piece of Chang Yu’s painting
He is always so mysterious, never easy to be seen
I first saw a work of Chang Yu in 1989
I just felt I liked it, for no reason
I saw flowers
They are just in the vase, with a simple structure
It felt they were moving
So alive that they seemed to be still growing
I was so amazed at the time, thinking “Oh God. How can it be?”
“How can it be so beautiful and so simple?”
Double Naked Women in Pink has only a color of pink,
The human body and toes were carved
You can see the nick of the golden stone
So elastic and sculptural
He ought to be the greatest oil painter of last century.
I’m studying the times
When Chang Yu first came to Paris
Charcoal pencils were popular in west then
How could he draw in a calligraphy style
He drew the human body in calligraphic lines
I think he used oil paints
But drew calligraphy lines
Western artists could not draw lines like those
Only Chinese artists
With such an exaggerated portrait of human body and bold perspective
He is the only one in the School of Paris
Chang Yu’s works are charming
Because they touch the nostalgia deep inside people’s heart
The more you see, the stronger you feel
Like the Walking Woman
It feels like Chang Yu is walking out of the paper
When you are looking at the woman, you feel she is walking toward you
Chang Yu’s works are scattered all around the world
And are harder to find now
Violet has not been seen for more than 20 years.
Double Naked Women in Pink is never lent out
And has been hanging in their office for 20 years
And never been moved
I wish to see again the times when Chang Yu lived
The freedom to paint human bodies
A combination of dandy lifestyle and art
Chang Yu was ignored,
He should have come back to China
China has its own great artists actually