Sanyu's Femme a la Jupe Violete offered for $453,000

Femme a la Jupe Violete will headline the sale of an important selection of work by French-Chinese artist Sanyu at Sotheby's.

The work is valued at £300,000-350,000 ($388,188-452,886) and is one of 25 pieces by the artist offered in the October 3 Modern Asian Art auction in Hong Kong.

Sanyu Femme Violette
Sanyu moved to Paris from China in 1921

Sanyu was born in Nanchong, China in 1901, but moved to Paris to study in 1921. He would live there for the rest of his life.

One of the aspects of life in France that most appealed to Sanyu was the option to draw and paint nude models - something that was utterly forbidden in China at the time.

Most of the works in the sale are from a single owner collection and dislay nudes, with the present lot being one of the exceptions.

The woman in this painting is believed to be Kiki de Montparnasse, a famous model and artist from Paris' golden era.

She's painted in Sanyu's distinctive calligraphic style. Despite his decades in Europe, he remained inspired by the artistic traditions of his native China.

Sanyu's auction record is $6.7m, set for a work titled Potted Chrysanthemum in a Blue and White Jardiniere at Sotheby's in 2010.

You can check out all our art and photography memorabilia for sale here.

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