Sanyu, a pioneer of Chinese modernism, first rose to fame during the Roaring Twenties in Paris, and soon became the most eminent representative of Chinese-born painters within the Ecole de Paris movement. Critics recognized his outstanding gifts and called him the “Matisse of the East” or “Modigliani of the East” when praising the seductive quality of his lines and the aesthetic appeal of his female forms. Merging Western and Eastern elements in his work, Sanyu made good use of his early training as a calligrapher in his prolific output of sketches, watercolors, and prints, and these early works on paper also laid a solid foundation for his later oil paintings.

The most important Chinese-born painter to be counted a part of the Ecole de Paris, Sanyu was particularly renowned for his ink wash/brush paintings and drawings of human bodies. Taking his cue from traditional Chinese calligraphy, and further honing his artistic skills by sketching from life, he became an expert at depicting Western subjects through the prism of Eastern style and technique. His art combines a distinct feel of Western modernity with the understated elegance of Eastern freehand flair, something that is especially obvious in his many female nudes.