Auction [51] Asian Painters: Vietnamese modern art

Rediscovery of a major work by Nam Sơn

Nam Sơn had been working alongside Victor Tardieu since 1922 and supported him in his major projects, notably the creation of the School of Fine Arts in 1924. He was appointed drawing instructor for entrance exam candidates as early as 1925, and later became a technical professor of decorative arts.

His personal career as an artist truly took off in the early 1930s. Under the guidance of Victor Tardieu, he then took part in numerous exhibitions organized in Paris and Rome, including the major Colonial Exhibition of 1931.

In this large-scale silk painting, which brings together all the qualities that made Nam Sơn a master of silk painting, the artist presents a refined composition created for the fourth AGINDO exhibition held in Paris in March 1933. Seated before the altar of a Buddhist temple, a young woman dressed in a traditional costume from northern Vietnam is sewing a kesa, a sacred garment with bluish bands. Derived from the Sanskrit kasaya, meaning “dyed” or “muted in color,” this fabric embodies simplicity and humility.

Vũ Cao Đàm's tribute to all Vietnamese women

Having arrived in France in 1931 and trained according to academic principles, Vũ Cao Đàm gave a central place to portraiture, regarded as one of the major genres since the classification established by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1668. This genre experienced renewed interest among Asian artists trained in the early 20th century: drawing on iconography inherited from the Italian Renaissance, it depicts an idealized Vietnamese female figure, in keeping with Asian standards of beauty—ivory complexion, deep black hair, and a face with soft, rounded features.

The deliberately pared-down composition highlights the sobriety and elegance of the subject. The young woman is dressed in a white Áo dài and wears a Khăn tang, a headdress made of a long strip of white cloth worn in Vietnam during family funerals. The solemnity of this attire suggests that the model is taking part in the mourning of a member of her family. The simplicity of the ensemble underscores the dignity and natural beauty of the model, who may have been inspired by his own niece, Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa (Yannick Vu, op. cit., p. 186).

Lê Phổ and the decorative arts

Benefiting from an outstanding multidisciplinary education received in Hanoi at the École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine, the artist Lê Phổ drew upon the teachings in decorative arts of Joseph Inguimberty when assisting Victor Tardieu, artistic director of the 1931 Colonial Exhibition. Under Tardieu’s direction, he decorated the Salon de la Sadeai in 1936 and later the 1937 International Exposition in Paris.
Only a very small number of privileged clients, such as the family of Governor General Tholance and Prince Bửu Lộc, had access to Lê Phổ’s creations as an interior decorator and benefited from his refined taste in projects involving screens, seating, and other furnishings.

Sale [51] provides an opportunity to celebrate a still little-known facet of this great artist. It enables the transmission of decorative elements designed by Lê Phổ for one of his close acquaintances in Paris. A testament to this multidisciplinary approach, these doors—conceived and drawn by the artist and currently under restoration—constitute a unique and entirely unprecedented commission, now finally revealed to the public.On May 13, the art enthusiast bold enough to become its fortunate buyer will join the very exclusive circle of collectors living within a setting designed by Lê Phổ.

The art dealer André Romanet discovered Lê Phổ’s work in 1941 when the Lorenceau Gallery in Vichy exhibited some of his pieces. Romanet then met the artist and became his gallerist. As the owner of the Galerie d’Art Pasteur in Algiers and another gallery in Oran, he organized several exhibitions beginning in 1942 and also exhibited Lê Phổ’s work in Paris.

Les Pivoines roses belongs to the postwar pe riod and admirably reflects the painter’s artistic explorations during a time of profound transformation.

This oil on silk was created in the early 1960s, as confirmed by archival documents preserved in the family of the painter Lê Phổ. It was during these same years that his exhibitions at Galerie Romanet began to attract the attention of the American gallerist Wally Findlay, who contacted him in 1963.

Here, a standing woman embraces her child, who is holding a bunch of grapes. An obvious reference to the iconography of the Virgin and Child, Lê Phổ chooses to place this motif within a domestic and lush setting.

Lê Văn Đệ’s Trip to Italy: His Participation in the Second International Exhibition of Colonial Art, Naples, 1934

Lê Văn Đệ, an artist from Bến Tre Province, gra duated at the top of his class (tied for first place) in the first graduating class of the Indochinese School of Fine Arts in 1930. As a recipient of a S.A.M.I.P.I.C. scholarship, he arrived in France at the end of 1931, just as the Colonial Exhibition in Vincennes was drawing to a close. He enrolled at the École Carte postale de Lê Văn Đề à Victor Tardieu, Rome, 29 janvier 1933 © Fonds Victor Tardieu, INHA Paris des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he became a student of Jean-Pierre Laurens (1875-1932). During his stay in Italy in the early 1930s, he exhibited regularly in Milan and Rome.

Captivated, Lê Văn Đệ will never venture beyond this Italy that inspires him so much. The artist exhibits regularly. Dazzled by the Italian frescoes he had just discovered, he experimented with works on Eternit, in an innovative endeavor that met with great success at the exhibitions he held at the time in Naples and Milan.
For the first time since the 1930s, we have the opportunity to view Lê Văn Đệ’s work in its entirety. In perfect condition, they are pre sented in their original frames, on the backs of which are affixed labels from the Seconda Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Coloniale held in Naples in 1934.

Louis Rollet, traveling painter

This 51^st sale is also an opportunity to discover traveling painters such as Louis Rollet, winner of the Indochina Prize in 1930. He then became a drawing and painting professor at the École des Beaux-Arts of Indochina in Hanoi and immersed himself in the local culture by depicting scenes of everyday life, as illustrated by this lively market view.

Rediscovering a Forgotten Artist: Vũ Đình Ngọc, a 1935 graduate of the Indochina School of Fine Arts

Vũ Đình Ngọc enrolled in the Class of 1930-1935 at the Indochinese School of Fine Arts, where he specialized in painting.

It was likely in 1937, during the 3rd Sadeai Salon, that Vũ Đình Ngọc’s Le tricot was purchased by the current owner’s grandfather. Then a doctor in Hanoi, this art lover’s acquisition attests to the interest of the French who had come to Indochina in this new generation of artists (C. Aguttes-Reynier, L’École des beaux-arts de Indochine (1925-1945), Paris, In Fine éditions d’art, 2023, p.124)

Knitting, a traditional domestic activity, is here associated with a sense of nobility and evokes the status of a woman whose daily life unfolds sheltered from the constraints of the outside world.

A preliminary study by Jean Bouchaud: The Perfume River in Hue

In 1924, the Colonial Society of French Artists awarded him the Indochina Prize, paving the way for his travels to Southeast Asia, notably to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. His career reached its peak in 1928 when he was awarded the gold medal at the Salon des Artistes Français for Laveuses cochinchinoises. These travel experiences, and more particularly his immersion in Vietnam, would provide lasting inspiration for his body of work.

Our work is a preparatory study in oil on canvas for The Banks of the Perfume River, Hué, dated 1929 and held in a private collection.

Mai Trung Thứ's Small Formats

Mai Trung Thứ strove to capture the beauty of his models in the style of posed portraits. Mai Trung Thứ exhibited regu larly in France. Toward the end of his life, the Galerie Vendôme dedicated several major exhibitions to him: the exhibition Le Monde de Mai-Thứ in 1974–1975, followed by a collec tive retrospective, before presenting L’Univers poétique de Mai-Thu from December 1979 to January 1980, the last public showcase of his work before his death on October 10, 1980, while an exhibition titled Cent petits tableaux was in preparation. This success with galleries was largely due to the artist’s adaptation of his formats, favoring smaller-scale compositions to meet the ever-growing demand from collectors.

Mai Trung Thứ also pays particular attention to the presentation of his works. As early as the 1940s, he made his own frames, initially in the Western style, and then, starting in the 1950s, using frames of Asian inspiration that were in perfect harmony with the aesthetic of his pain tings.

Auction [51] Asian Painters: Modern Vietnamese Art

May 13, 2026, 2:30 p.m.

Guided tours by the expert (registration required): Tuesday, May 5 at 11:30 a.m. and Monday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m.
Register

Public viewings: Monday, May 4 through Tuesday, May 12, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (except May 8–10)

Lecture: Spring in Asia: Flora and Fauna in Asian Art
Organized as part of Asian Spring 2026 with the support of the Club Transmission Aguttes
By registration, Monday, June 8 at 2:30 p.m.
Register

A quarterly auction coming up: do you know the value of your art?

Take advantage of a free, confidential consultation with our expert, Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier, a long-standing leader in this field.

Asian Modern Art. Aguttes Auction [52], September 9, 2026, 2:30 p.m.