February 18, 2025, in Neuilly-sur-Seine

French
中文
Tiếng Việt

For its 46th sale of modern Asian art, on February 18, 2025 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Aguttes will disperse a previously unseen group of 10 works and objets d'art from the Jacques Lebas Collection. A close friend of Victor Tardieu, he was censor at the Albert Sarraut High School, taught art history at the Indochina School of Fine Arts and lived surrounded by paintings and sculptures.


Indochina School of Fine Arts
Paysage, circa 1929-1933
Oil on canvas, 75 x 98 cm
Estimate : €70 000 - €100 000

A daily complicity, a friendship forged around art.

As the Indochina School of Fine Arts celebrates its centenary, Aguttes pays tribute to its founder, Victor Tardieu, with works and objects that belonged to one of his closest friends, Jacques Lebas. The collection also includes two paintings by Victor Tardieu. The publication of archives, on the occasion of the sale of February 18, 2025, enriches our knowledge of the founder of the Indochina School of Fine Arts and of this institution. Victor Tardieu and Jacques Lebas, both teachers and educators, probably met in Hanoi in 1929. These two curious, literate and humanist men forged a strong friendship. Their shared taste for passing on knowledge, particularly to young Vietnamese, would be the cement of this intellectual and intimate friendship. A trusted friend of Victor Tardieu, Jacques Lebas shared the daily life of the founder of the Indochina School of Fine Arts. Knight of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam, Knight of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol, he distinguished himself brilliantly throughout his career.


Victor Tardieu, Jacques Lebas and his wife,
on the porch of their residence at the Albert Sarraut High School, Hanoi, February 1936
©Archives Lebas

As early as 1929, Jacques Lebas was teaching art history at the Indochina School of Fine Arts. Strong ties were forged, as evidenced by the meals shared at Christmas, New Year's Day and on birthdays. From September 1933, Lebas took up residence at the Albert Sarraut High School, first as general supervisor and then, from March 1, 1934, as censor. Jacques Lebas sought Victor Tardieu's advice on how to furnish his residence. A fruitful correspondence between the two men led to an exchange: canvases painted by some of Jacques Lebas's students at the Indochina School of Fine Arts for new supplies and canvases offered by the latter to Victor Tardieu for the start of the university year in September 1933. The decor would later adorn the interior of the Censor's residence in Hanoi, and later his home in France.

The friendship between the two men transcended borders and, despite the distance, a sincere relationship developed with Tardieu's wife Caroline and son Jean, both living in France. In 1937, following the sudden death of her husband, Madame Victor Tardieu naturally commissioned Jacques Lebas to organize the inventory and repatriation of the deceased's possessions and body. This link between the two families was to last for a very long time...


In June 1937, at the request of Victor Tardieu's widow, Jacques Lebas was appointed to collect the deceased's possessions
and organize their repatriation to France. A trusted friend of the family, he is shown here on the right, in front of Victor Tardieu's grave,
hat in hand, in the courtyard of the Indochina School of Fine Arts, Hanoi, 1937.
©Archives Lebas

10 works and objets d'art never before seen on the art market

In this Jacques Lebas collection are two oils on panel painted by Victor Tardieu (estimate: 3 000/5 000€ each), himself. Four oils on canvas by students at the Indochina School of Fine Arts, circa 1932-1933 (estimate: 60 000/90 000€ ; 60 000/90 000€ ; 80 000/120 000€ ; 70 000/100 000€) and a drawing by Lê Phổ (estimate: 30 000/50 000€) will also be offered at auction, along with a number of objets d'art including an important imperial carpet from the Qing dynasty (estimate: 8 000/12 000€), all of these personal possessions coming from the censor's residence at the Albert Sarraut High School in Hanoi.

The four oil paintings testify to the importance accorded to outdoor work at the school. Joseph Inguimberty, who taught at the Indochina School of Fine Arts from 1929 to 1945, gave priority to outings in the Indochinese countryside, ideal for working from life. Here, the importance given to light and shades of green is remarkable.

The collection on display today illustrates Jacques Lebas's deep affection and admiration for young people, particularly his students from the Indochina School of Fine Arts, who created the paintings. Very attached to Vietnam, and speaking Annamese himself, he chose to decorate his residence in Hanoi with their work, then treasured it and brought it back to France. Passed down through the generations, they are now being presented on the art market for the first time.

These works and archival documents shed a more personal light on Victor Tardieu's personality. This close friendship lasted for almost 10 years, until the death of the founder of the Indochina School of Fine Arts.

Jacques Lebas, portrait of a humanist in a few dates

Born in 1902 in Paris.

1924: Doctorate in History and Geography (thesis on the Cambodian economy) and diploma from the Oriental Language School (Annamite language). Teaches for 3 years in France.

1928: Seconded to Indochina, he taught first at the Chasseloup-Laubat High School in Saigon, then at the Albert Sarraut High School, Hanoi, while also being a lecturer at Hanoi University [1928-1929: Higher School of Pedagogy / 1929-1931: Indochina School of Fine Arts: Professor of Art History, Tuesdays and Fridays at 8:30 a.m. or 7:30 p.m. / 1930-1931: Indochinese School of Advanced Studies].

In September 1933, he moved to the Albert Sarraut High School.

1934-1939: Censor - Albert Sarraut High School.

End of 1942 to March 9, 1945: Principal of Pavie College, Vientiane (capital of Laos).

September 1946: return to France and leave of absence


School of Fine Arts of Indochina, attributed to Nguyễn Phan Chánh (1892-1984)
Landscape with Figures, circa 1929-1933
Oil on canvas 84 x 84 cm
Estimate: 80,000 / 120,000 euros
Collection of Jacques Lebas, Auction at Aguttes on February 18, 2025, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.


School of Fine Arts of Indochina, circa 1932-1933
Pond Landscape, circa 1929-1933
Oil on canvas 66 x 104 cm
Estimate: 60,000 / 90,000 euros
Collection of Jacques Lebas, Auction at Aguttes on February 18, 2025, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.


View of the residence of Jacques Lebas and his wife in Hanoi at the Albert Sarraut High School in the 1930s.
Above the overmantel, the painting 14 presented. ©Lebas Archives


School of Fine Arts of Indochina, attributed to Trần Quang Trân (promotion III)
Landscape, circa 1929-1933
Oil on canvas 70 x 89 cm
Estimate: 60,000 / 90,000 euros
Collection of Jacques Lebas, Auction at Aguttes on February 18, 2025, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.


View of the residence of Jacques Lebas and his wife in Hanoi at the Albert Sarraut High School in the 1930s.
On the wall opposite, the drawing 18 by Lê Phổ is visible. ©Lebas Archives


Lê Phổ (1907-2001)
Young Woman Sitting
Hanoi, April 1933
Oil pastel on Ingres paper, signed, located, and dated at the bottom left
57.5 x 45 cm
Estimate: 30,000 / 50,000 euros
Collection of Jacques Lebas, Auction at Aguttes on February 18, 2025, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.


Victor Tardieu (1870-1937)
Seine near Sourdun, 1918
Oil on panel, titled on the back
21.5 x 26.5 cm
Estimate: 3,000 / 5,000 euros
Collection of Jacques Lebas, Auction at Aguttes on February 18, 2025, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.


Victor Tardieu (1870-1937)
Landscape
Oil on panel
21.5 x 27 cm
Estimate: 3,000 / 5,000 euros
Collection of Jacques Lebas, Auction at Aguttes on February 18, 2025, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

Also discover the highlights of the sale :


LƯƠNG XUÂN NHỊ (1914-2006)
Bouquet of Lilies
Oil on canvas, signed lower left
61 x 46 cm - 24 x 18 1/8 in.
Estimate: €50,000 / €80,000

PROVENANCE
Private collection, France (by descent in 1951 and then in 1996)


École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (mid-20th century)
Young Girl with a Dove, circa 1940-1950
Oil on canvas, annotated with a poem and signed on the left side
100 x 69.5 cm - 39 3/8 x 27 3/8 in.
Estimate: €120,000 / €150,000

PROVENANCE
Private collection, acquired in Hanoi between 1940 and 1950
Brought to Paris when the family settled there in the early 1950s
Then by descent


VŨ CAO ĐÀM (1908-2000)
Seated Young Woman
Terracotta with gray patina, signed on the base
33 x 26 x 24 cm - 13 x 10 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.
Estimate: €20,000 / €40,000

PROVENANCE
Private collection, France

Public Exhibition
Aguttes Neuilly | 164 bis, avenue Charles-de-Gaulle
From Monday, February 3 to Monday, February 17:
By appointment in the morning (contact: saintalbin@aguttes.com)
Free access in the afternoon from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Booking an appointment is recommended for a visit with the expert

PAINTERS OF ASIA : MODERN VIETNAMESE ART
Sale **

**Tuesday, February 18, 2025

For more information or to include a lot in our upcoming sales, please contact :
Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier
+33 (1) 41 92 06 49 - reynier@aguttes.com