Works / Painting

Collection of Henri-Pierre Roché (late 1920s to early 1930s)

Even though the Roché inventory lists 109 paintings, only 93 have been discovered. Five paintings bearing Roché’s inventory sticker and collector’s mark are not included in the inventory, most likely because Sanyu took them back when his working relationship with Roché ended or because Roché sold or gave them away before the inventory was made in 1953.
The Roché collection begins with the paintings on mirror, the smallest of Sanyu’s works in oil. These are followed by paintings arranged chronologically, with the dated paintings first and then the undated paintings. Since Roché acted as Sanyu’s dealer for only three years, 1929–32, the execution dates of the paintings, dated or undated, overlap. Evidently Roché encouraged Sanyu to date his paintings. Of Sanyu’s 321 oil paintings, 67 are dated, 39 of them owned by Roché.

Collection of Johan Franco and Paintings from the Holland and Belgium Period (1930s)

Paintings in this section include those owned by Johan Franco and his friends and by collectors in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Paris in the 1930s. Paintings illustrated in announcements or in articles introducing the exhibitions in the Netherlands organized by Franco, as well as those with exhibition stickers, are also included here.

Paintings from the World War II Years (1940s)

This section contains paintings in the collection of Raymond Toupenet that were done during World War II and paintings from wartime and postwar exhibitions in Paris.

Collection of Robert Frank and Paintings from the New York Period (late 1940s to early 1950s)

Sanyu shipped twenty-nine paintings to New York prior to going there in 1948. This section includes the twenty-two paintings that were in the Robert Frank collection, as well as those he or Sanyu gave to friends in New York. Paintings from Sanyu’s exhibition in New York described in newspaper articles are also included in this section.

Paintings of the 1950s and 1960s

Sanyu returned to Paris from New York in 1950. Without an agent to promote his paintings or a gallery to exhibit them, he relied on Salon exhibitions and his friends. Most of the paintings in this section were either sold or given to friends.

Collection of the National History Museum, Taipei (late 1950s to early 1960s)

The forty-nine paintings shipped to Taiwan in 1964, now at the National Museum of History in Taipei, are listed in this section. Of the five dated paintings, four were done in the 1950s, the fifth in 1963. The majority of the paintings were done in the early 1960s, many expressly for the exhibition of Sanyu’s paintings in Taipei planned for 1964 or 1965.

Collection of the Lévy Family and Paintings from the Exhibition at the Lévy Residence (early 1960s to mid-1960s)

This section includes the paintings exhibited at Natacha and Étienne Lévy’s home in 1965, as well as paintings collected by members of the Lévy family in the early 1960s, before the exhibition.

Paintings Sold at Hôtel Drouot (1966)

After Sanyu passed away in 1966, the paintings in his studio were sent to Hôtel Drouot to be auctioned. A number of paintings offered, however, appear not in this section but rather in the section referring to their first appearance where, unsold, they were returned to Sanyu. Many of Sanyu’s most important works were found in his studio when he died most likely because they were among his favorites and so he chose to keep them.
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