Manada on the Grassland

The horse is a subject that both ancient and modern Chinese artists have always enjoyed depicting, and it is also an important one for Sanyu. Since the 1920s, he started to explore the possibility of oil painting in the use of some traditional Chinese elements as the subjects, such as vases of flowers and horses. Until the 1930s and 1940s, he had created a series of horse sculptures and paintings. They are not only reminiscence of traditional Chinese cultures, but can also be seen as projections of his personality, emotions and life experience. Visually, with stark brushstrokes, he always placed horses in an spacious background, combining relatively small horses with expansive landscapes. In such a strong contrast, his innermost loneliness is exposed.