I n the 1920s, Paris was the centre of avant-garde art, attracting artists from around the world, including Sanyu. Having grown up with a lot of freedom, Sanyu was drawn to the free-wheeling artistic atmosphere at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Montparnasse and decided to enrol there. During his years at the Académie, he made some of the boldest drawings of his career. Sanyu created many excellent works in ink and watercolour, and Femme a la robe jaune avec chaussettes roses (Lot 1011) is one of his most remarkable.As the title suggests, the woman in Femme a la robe jaune avec chaussettes roses wears a bright yellow dress and pink stockings. She reclines on the floor with her back to the viewer, wholeheartedly absorbed in her book. Women reading are a frequent subject in Sanyu’s watercolours, but they often face the viewer, as in Femme au foulard rouge and Femme à la robe jaune à pois. It is rare that the woman in Femme a la robe jaune avec chaussettes roses has her back to the viewer. With her cropped blonde hair and stylish short dress, the figure is very likely Sanyu’s French wife at the t.mes : Marcelle Charlotte Guyot de la Hardrouyère. This would explain the woman’s distinctly relaxed and elegant posture. Femme a la robe jaune avec chaussettes roses could represent a scene of everyday life for Sanyu and his wife.

During his t.mes at Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Sanyu often recorded everyday life in drawings. In contrast to traditional art academies, the instruction at the Académie was more permissive and self-directed. Students drew from live models in any style they pleased. Influenced by his lessons, Sanyu would often sit out at cafes in Montparnasse and draw the people around him. Technically, Sanyu’s skill in calligraphy shone through in his use of a brush when he sketched. In Femme a la robe jaune avec chaussettes roses, he uses a seemingly continuous stroke of ink to delineate the woman’s form. The image is clear and succinct, an excellent expression of Sanyu’s facility with ink and the human figure.

The original owner of Femme a la robe jaune avec chaussettes roses was also one of Sanyu’s most important collects ors: Parisian art dealer Jean-Claude Riedel. In 2014, the work was shown at ‘Masters on Paper: From Picasso to Sanyu’ at Replica Shoes ’s Beijing, where the piece was featured at the entrance to the show. The piece entered the collects ion of its current owner through that sale and, nearly ten years later, collects ors once again have the unique opportunity to purchase this piece.

一九二〇年代的巴黎是二十世紀前衛藝術的中心，吸引了無數從世界各地慕名前往巴黎的藝術家，常玉便是其中之一。自幼生活無拘無束的常玉被巴黎蒙帕納斯區大茅舍藝術學院自由奔放的藝術氛圍吸引，從而選擇在此學藝。他在此度過的數年是他藝術生涯中最為奔放寫意的時期，留下了不少水墨、水彩佳作，《黃洋裝粉長襪女士》（拍品編號1011）便是常玉水彩畫作中最為出色的作品之一。《黃洋裝粉長襪女士》中女子衣著鮮豔黃色洋裝和粉紅色絲襪，背對觀眾，伏於地上，全神專注於手中的書本。閱讀女子是常玉水彩作品中的經典主題，如《披紅圍巾的女士》和《圓點黃洋裝女士》一般，她們多以正面示人。而《黃洋裝粉長襪女士》畫中女子以伏地姿勢背對觀眾的則十分罕見。畫中的女子有一頭金色短髮，衣著當時巴黎女子之間流行的短裙洋裝；按此形象推測，極有可能是常玉當時的法國人妻子馬素（Marcelle Charlotte Guyot de la Hardrouyere）。據此推斷，畫中女子罕有的放鬆、俏皮姿態便得到了解釋：《黃洋裝粉長襪女士》可能是常玉描繪與妻子生活中日常一幕的作品。

用素描記錄生活日常是常玉就讀於大茅舍藝術學院時的主要創作方法。與傳統藝術學院不同，大茅舍藝術學院的教學氛圍寬鬆自在，學生有著以真人模特兒為原型，任意素描創作的自由。受此影響，常玉也時常在蒙帕納斯區街頭的咖啡廳，以身邊的人為主體繪畫素描作品。而技法方面，自由熟習書法的常玉則用毛筆速寫。《黃洋裝粉長襪女士》中藝術家用一氣呵成的水墨筆法勾勒出女子的輪廓，畫面簡潔清晰，是常玉對水墨以及人物造型得心應手的表現。

《黃洋裝粉長襪女士》原藏家是常玉的重要藏家：巴黎畫商尚·克勞德·希耶戴（Jean-Claude Riedel）。本作在二〇一四年展出於北京蘇富比《『大師藝采』從畢加索到常玉》私人洽購展，並被用作展覽廳入口燈箱圖像。經由此洽購展，此作進入現藏家的私人收藏之中。時隔近十年，此作首次登上拍場，機會難得可貴。