* 2022 Golden Comic Award

A young man in early twentieth century Taiwan decides to relocate to the mecca of the international art: Paris. Despite the hardships of travel and the challenges of living in a new culture, Yang San-lang refuses to abandon his artistic ambitions.

Paris at the beginning of the 20th century called to painters from around the world. Van Gogh, Monet, Cézanne, and other European painters had all spent time in Paris absorbing the rich artistic atmosphere of the city. Among those that arrived to follow in their footsteps was a young painter from a small island in the far East who would one day become the most revered oil painter of his homeland.

After graduating from a Japanese art school in Taiwan in the 1930s, Yang San-lang begins entering his works in various art exhibitions in hopes of proving himself to his family. When an untimely rejection forces him to reflect on the artistic limitations imposed by living in Taiwan, Yang San-lang decides to relocate to Paris to further his studies and expand his horizons.

Acclaimed comic book artist HOM teamed up with the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts to produce this two-part graphic novel that tells the story of master oil-painter Yang San-lang’s artistic development in Paris. From his initial anxiety and lack of direction, to the hardships of travel, to the shock of living in another country, the story unfolds in parallel with discussions of Yang’s artistic vision and profiles of the influential painters of the time. Diligently researched and enchantingly told, this story carries readers right along beside Yang San-lang as he pursues his artistic dreams.