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拍品专文
L'OUEST CONQUIS, RÊVÉ ET OUBLIÉ:
A CURATED COLLECTION OF VIETNAMESE PAINTINGS
In art, the artist is the determining factor; in art history, it is the collector. It is only the collector and not the amateur that will decide if an artist will or will not enter history: there are no unknown geniuses, one's talent will always emerge and be recognised. The collector can be public or private, religious or not, a sponsor or an authority but no matter what, he is always at the centre of the arts. Since 1766, Christie's has always created or encouraged this and many of the most exquisite pieces are owned in private collections.
This is particularly true in Vietnamese paintings and we are proud to present – after the success in May 2016 of the first curated collection of Vietnamese art, Se Souvenir des Belles Choses, a new selection of works carefully chosen for their historical and artistic qualities. Five major names are presented and brought forward: Le Pho (1907-2001), Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000), Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980) as they postulated for this Conquête de l'Ouest (the Conquest of the West), travelling and eventually settling in France.
Hoang Tich Chu (1912-2003) was also tempted to follow the same path but would eventually give it up. As for the last one, Nguyen Trung (b. 1940), due to social and political circumstances he remains a man from the South and would not be able to follow the same path.
Christie's is proud to present this collection of paintings. Our choices were made without any compromise: only great masters, and great masterpieces. Techniques are as varied as gouache and ink on silk, oil on canvas or lacquers, from 1937 to 1999, in any place, any subject and from impeccable provenances.
Conquest, dream, oblivion: the tryptic from a common destiny.
The artist's search is for the absolute, an absolute set in time, but a universal absolute by their artistic stories written - then - in the West and especially Paris. The monk Van Hanh who contributed to the creation of the Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) and who died in 1018, settled Hanoi as the capital:
TO THE DISCIPLES
Life is a flash of lightning:
he gleams then disappears
The plant blossoms in spring and wither in autumn
Prosperity and decline, why be frightened:
A fragile drop of dew set on a blade of grass
Following such artistic luminaries as Leonard Foujita; and later Zao Wou-ki and Chu Teh Chun and many others, Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam and Mai Thu arrived in Paris between 1931 et 1937. They would never return to Vietnam (only Mai Thu, for a brief visit in 1962) and would stay and live in France all the rest of their lives.
Our collection shows clearly the evolution of their unique style, from delicate graceful paintings on silk for Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam – moving towards the Impressionist style on oil on canvas medium after their being commissioned in 1963 with the Wally Findlay Gallery (USA). During the 'Findlay period', Le Pho set his preference on idyllic bucolic women and flowers which he then painted with more flamboyance than in his middle Romanet period which spanned from the end of the World War to the early 1960s.
Vu Cao Dam often expressed his art form with allusions from Kim-Vân-Kieû, the beautiful Vietnamese poem from the early 19th century. In 1959, Vu Cao Dam moved to Saint-Paul de Vence (French Riviera) (Lot 424), the place where he said gave him the greatest sense of peace and completion.
Mai Trung Thu would remain faithful all his life and used a singular medium of painting on silk: our collection shows that these characters he painted share the space in the painting with others, yet allowed great attention to detail in the background. The original frames created by Mai Thu himself became part of his creation, and the precious case for each work. This particularly rings true as well for Vu Cao Dam, who interestingly paid more attention to his frame than Le Pho.
These three friends and wonderful artists, belonged to a patriotic universality and they left us with a legacy of exceptional works of which we can discover all the evocative facets and best qualities of Vietnamese painting.
Hoang Tich Chu, almost a contemporary of the three others was from the same social background and had the same training and education but chose a different path: he will follow the Vietminh and had to burn many of his works in 1945. Disillusioned by the new regime of the North, he met up with Le Pho in Paris in 1955. The two painters use to enjoy each other's company, but despite his calling for the West, he decided to return to his homeland to be with his beloved wife and family. Apart from a few pictorial depictions for the new regime, he chose to paint his wife Hoang Tuyet Trinh as his muse, primarily using and mastering the lacquer technique.
Nguyen Trung belongs to this sacrificed generation of the South, where art was put aside and subjects painted more in line with political dogmatism. The Vietnam war took and exacted a heavy toll on everyone, and for artists of that time, some were lost or forgotten. Even though he painted abstract work throughout his life, there was a definite move towards poetic and evocative depictions.
The literatus Cao Ba Quat and his nephew Cao Ba Nha best emulated this principle in the 19th Century.
Without travelling would you know what the world's dust tastes like?
The nostalgic wanders far from the native home
Swayed from the crest to the hollows of life
The artist is the messenger of time. His work is forever.
Jean-François Hubert
Senior Consultant, Vietnamese Art
A CURATED COLLECTION OF VIETNAMESE PAINTINGS
In art, the artist is the determining factor; in art history, it is the collector. It is only the collector and not the amateur that will decide if an artist will or will not enter history: there are no unknown geniuses, one's talent will always emerge and be recognised. The collector can be public or private, religious or not, a sponsor or an authority but no matter what, he is always at the centre of the arts. Since 1766, Christie's has always created or encouraged this and many of the most exquisite pieces are owned in private collections.
This is particularly true in Vietnamese paintings and we are proud to present – after the success in May 2016 of the first curated collection of Vietnamese art, Se Souvenir des Belles Choses, a new selection of works carefully chosen for their historical and artistic qualities. Five major names are presented and brought forward: Le Pho (1907-2001), Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000), Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980) as they postulated for this Conquête de l'Ouest (the Conquest of the West), travelling and eventually settling in France.
Hoang Tich Chu (1912-2003) was also tempted to follow the same path but would eventually give it up. As for the last one, Nguyen Trung (b. 1940), due to social and political circumstances he remains a man from the South and would not be able to follow the same path.
Christie's is proud to present this collection of paintings. Our choices were made without any compromise: only great masters, and great masterpieces. Techniques are as varied as gouache and ink on silk, oil on canvas or lacquers, from 1937 to 1999, in any place, any subject and from impeccable provenances.
Conquest, dream, oblivion: the tryptic from a common destiny.
The artist's search is for the absolute, an absolute set in time, but a universal absolute by their artistic stories written - then - in the West and especially Paris. The monk Van Hanh who contributed to the creation of the Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) and who died in 1018, settled Hanoi as the capital:
TO THE DISCIPLES
Life is a flash of lightning:
he gleams then disappears
The plant blossoms in spring and wither in autumn
Prosperity and decline, why be frightened:
A fragile drop of dew set on a blade of grass
Following such artistic luminaries as Leonard Foujita; and later Zao Wou-ki and Chu Teh Chun and many others, Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam and Mai Thu arrived in Paris between 1931 et 1937. They would never return to Vietnam (only Mai Thu, for a brief visit in 1962) and would stay and live in France all the rest of their lives.
Our collection shows clearly the evolution of their unique style, from delicate graceful paintings on silk for Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam – moving towards the Impressionist style on oil on canvas medium after their being commissioned in 1963 with the Wally Findlay Gallery (USA). During the 'Findlay period', Le Pho set his preference on idyllic bucolic women and flowers which he then painted with more flamboyance than in his middle Romanet period which spanned from the end of the World War to the early 1960s.
Vu Cao Dam often expressed his art form with allusions from Kim-Vân-Kieû, the beautiful Vietnamese poem from the early 19th century. In 1959, Vu Cao Dam moved to Saint-Paul de Vence (French Riviera) (Lot 424), the place where he said gave him the greatest sense of peace and completion.
Mai Trung Thu would remain faithful all his life and used a singular medium of painting on silk: our collection shows that these characters he painted share the space in the painting with others, yet allowed great attention to detail in the background. The original frames created by Mai Thu himself became part of his creation, and the precious case for each work. This particularly rings true as well for Vu Cao Dam, who interestingly paid more attention to his frame than Le Pho.
These three friends and wonderful artists, belonged to a patriotic universality and they left us with a legacy of exceptional works of which we can discover all the evocative facets and best qualities of Vietnamese painting.
Hoang Tich Chu, almost a contemporary of the three others was from the same social background and had the same training and education but chose a different path: he will follow the Vietminh and had to burn many of his works in 1945. Disillusioned by the new regime of the North, he met up with Le Pho in Paris in 1955. The two painters use to enjoy each other's company, but despite his calling for the West, he decided to return to his homeland to be with his beloved wife and family. Apart from a few pictorial depictions for the new regime, he chose to paint his wife Hoang Tuyet Trinh as his muse, primarily using and mastering the lacquer technique.
Nguyen Trung belongs to this sacrificed generation of the South, where art was put aside and subjects painted more in line with political dogmatism. The Vietnam war took and exacted a heavy toll on everyone, and for artists of that time, some were lost or forgotten. Even though he painted abstract work throughout his life, there was a definite move towards poetic and evocative depictions.
The literatus Cao Ba Quat and his nephew Cao Ba Nha best emulated this principle in the 19th Century.
Without travelling would you know what the world's dust tastes like?
The nostalgic wanders far from the native home
Swayed from the crest to the hollows of life
The artist is the messenger of time. His work is forever.
Jean-François Hubert
Senior Consultant, Vietnamese Art