LÊ PHỔ (1907-2001)

Lot 17
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Estimation :
150000 - 200000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 207 760EUR
LÊ PHỔ (1907-2001)
Jeune femme au lotus et à l'éventail Ink and color on silk, signed upper left 34.2 x 24.8 cm - 13 3/8 x 9 3/4 in. Considered as one of the leading figures of modern Vietnamese art, Lê Phổ was born in 1907 in Hà Tây province into a respected mandarin family, his father being the last viceroy of Tonkin. Showing a predisposition for painting and drawing, he entered the first class of the Indochina School of Fine Arts in 1925. He was soon noticed by the director and founder of the school, Victor Tardieu, for whom he retained a strong attachment throughout his life. Lê Phổ assimilated to perfection the teachings of his teachers. The school promoted Vietnamese artistic traditions such as painting on silk or lacquer, while sensitizing this new generation of artists to Western history and artistic techniques. Indeed, one can read with ease the influences of the Italian Primitives or the Impressionists in Lê Phổ ‘s works. In 1931, he came to France to present his works on the occasion of the International Colonial Exhibition. He chose to stay in Paris for a year to attend classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, then undertook several trips to Europe. He returned to Vietnam in 1933 and taught at the Indochina School of Fine Arts in Hanoi. He decided to settle permanently in France in 1937 and quickly became very well known. The great painter of women Lê Phổ has represented the models in family or alone, maternal or sensual. The way he portrayed them varies, but each of them show the same nobility. Jeune femme au lotus et à l’éventail was created during the artist’s early years of practice. Influenced by the teaching of the Hanoi School of Fine Arts, he mainly uses the technique of ink on silk. This technique rooted in ancestral Chinese practices was taken up and developed under the precepts of Victor Tardieu, the director of the School and a close friend of Lê Phổ. The fineness of the silk allows a particularly delicate rendering, adapted to the representation of feminine softness. The diluted ink enables to preserve harmony between each colour. The palette here is typical of the artist’s first period: sober and composed of dark tones. This chromatic range is subtly enhanced by a discreet touch of yellow on the sleeve edging and by the red button on the collar. These refinement details contribute to the elegance of the model. Wearing the traditional ao dai and a turban around her hair, separated by a parting in the middle, this young woman embodies the Vietnamese ideal beauty. Her fine oval features, her ebony hair and her graceful posture recall her origins. However, Western influences can also be seen in this composition. The serpentine line giving the young woman a movement made of curves recalls Lê Phổ’ discovery of the Mannerists in the early 1930s. The very treatment of the portrait featuring the model in the center of the composition, framed by two curtained panels, is reminiscent of Western codes. While Asian and European influences can be read, universal codes are also present. Lotus is the very emblem of femininity and has been asserted in the two cultures as a sensual flower. Embodying womanhood, it is also the attribute of purity in Japanese literature. Contributing to the representation of delicacy, the remarkably transparent scarf and fan complete this dreamlike vision. The fan - a symbol of royal dignity in Asia - underlines the nobility of the woman. Her attitude - head slightly lowered and eyes tilted downwards - reinforces the peaceful and intimate feeling of this scene. Like a Venus from Asia, Lê Phổ captures the beauty of the women of his country and leaves a magnificent testimony to posterity
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