VU CAO DAM (1908-2000)

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Lot n° 6
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Estimation :
80000 - 120000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 271 560EUR
VU CAO DAM (1908-2000)
Maternité Ink and color on silk, signed lower right 25 5/8 x 19 1/2 in. L’attestation rédigée par Charlotte Reynier-Aguttes indiquant une insertion au catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre de l’artiste qu’elle prépare actuellement sera remise à l’acquéreur PROVENANCE Acquis auprès de l’artiste Collection Comtesse Matilde Locatelli, Paris avant 1942 puis Calle Recoletos,13 à Madrid, Espagne. Transmis familialement Collection privée, France Painting on silk was one of the techniques regularly used by Vu Cao Dam. He painted this Mother and Child in the late 1930s; it is particularly interesting because of its format and date. This masterpiece of finesse and delicacy is rendered in soft, pure colours that accentuate the poetic aspect of the silk painting. Vu Cao Dam depicts a young woman in traditional dress sitting in a luxuriant landscape, protecting a young child in her arms. The mother’s white turban attracts and captures the light like a halo. Nothing seems to disturb the serenity of this scene, which reflects all the artist’s skill in conveying the emotions of his subjects. VŨ CAO ĐÀM Vu Cao Dam was born on 8 January 1908 in Hanoi to a well-off Catholic family. The fifth of fourteen children, the artist was influenced by French culture from a very young age, as his father, Vu Dinh Thi (1864- 1930), an erudite scholar, had an in-depth knowledge of French. He was sent to Paris by the government for the Universal Exhibition of 1889, where he was enchanted by the French lifestyle. In 1926, Vu Cao Dam entered the Hanoi School of Fine Arts, where he studied for five years. Here he took classes in drawing, painting and sculpture under the French painter Victor Tardieu, the school’s founder, and Joseph Inguimberty After graduating from the school in 1931, Vu Cao Dam received a grant that took him to France to continue his studies. This journey marked a turning point in his career. When he was invited to exhibit his sculptures at the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition, he decided to live in France permanently. He then entered the Far East section of the École du Louvre, where he got to know and study great European masterpieces. He was particularly inspired by the works of Renoir, Van Gogh, Bonnard and Matisse, and those of Rodin, Despiau and Giacometti. He was also impressed by the Western avant-gardes like the Fauves and the Paris School, who had a considerable influence on his work. Meanwhile, the Colonial Exhibition led to numerous commissions. In 1946, the artist, now increasingly established and admired in the Paris art scene, exhibited his delicate, graceful sculptures at the L’Art Français gallery in Paris and also at the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon des Tuileries and the Salon d’Automne, of which he had been a member since 1943. In 1949, he moved to the south of France with his family, where they settled in the Villa Les Heures Claires near Saint-Paulde-Vence, just beside Matisse’s chapel and only a kilometre from Marc Chagall ‘s house, «La Colline». Influenced by the Russian artist, he also discovered the work of Dubuffet and Malaval. The light and atmosphere of southern France are evident in the works of this period. In 1960, Vu Cao Dam exhibited paintings at the Frost & Reed Gallery in London. Three years later, his work was shown in Brussels. The artist then signed an exclusive contract with the art dealer Wally Findlay in the US. Today, he is considered one of the greatest Vietnamese painters and sculptors of his time, and his paintings feature in the permanent collections of many museums throughout the world, including the Musée du quai Branly in Paris.  
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