Phạm Hầu (1903-1995), A family of deer in a forest

Lot 1028. Phạm Hầu (1903-1995), A family of deer in a forest, signed and stamped with a seal of the artist, lacquer on wood panel, in 3 parts; each: 100 by 93 cm; 39 1/4  by 36 1/2  in. (3); overall: 100 by 279 cm; 39 1/4  by 109 3/4. Estimate 800,000 — 1,500,000 HKD. © Sotheby’s

Provenance: Private Collection, U.S.A.

Note: Lacquer painting is one of the most significant legacies of 20^th-century Vietnamese art. Although natural lacquer or s’on ta, was used by the Vietnamese in their traditional decorative craft for centuries, it evolved into a modern painting medium in the late 1920s to early 1930s. Its modern-day beginnings can be traced to the founding of the Fine Arts College of Indochina (L’École des Beaux Arts de l’Indochine), where young Vietnamese artists developed and pushed the boundaries of the lacquer under the tutelage of Joseph Inguimberty and Victor Tardieu, elevating it into an unique art form in itself.

Following the establishment of a standalone lacquer department in the Fine Arts College in 1928, the years spanning 1930-1945 are collectively known as the Golden Age of Vietnamese Paintings. During these years, masters such as Pham Hau, Nguyen Gia Tri, and Tran Van Can created poetic landscapes and tableaus rendered in brilliant palettes of gold, amber, auburn, vermillion, silver, and ochre. Their ability to manipulate the material properties of lacquer according to their artistic desires belies the sheer difficulty of working with such an inherently demanding medium.

Creating a lacquer work from scratch requires a high level of technical proficiency. The process involves visualizing multiple layers and working accordingly from the base of the vóc, a flat wooden board treated to receive the lacquer. The artist begins with the inlays of eggshell or mother of pearl, followed by the application of layers upon layers of coloured lacquer which are individually dried and sanded. Sanding the lacquer down is a highly crucial step that accounts for the material’s brilliance and compositional complexity. The layers form the artist’s painting surface, and the process repeats until the composition is complete. At this final point the artist polishes the surface to give the painting its finishing sheen. However, while the process of lacquer painting is highly timed and labour-intensive, in the hands of a master, the medium can be coaxed into creating some of the most sublime and beautiful works of art ever produced.

This artistic process was further developed and refined through  the explorations of various artists at the Fine Arts College, who embraced both Western-style classical training and traditional artistic techniques to reflect contemporary Vietnamese aesthetic sensibilities. The specific properties of lacquer, such as the variations of transparency, opacity, surface and depth, offered endless possibilities for experimentation. Indeed, through the meticulous application of layers of lacquer, one could create surfaces which were more radiant and eye-catching than the veneers of oil painting. While lacquer painting was traditionally flat and two-dimensional, modern Vietnamese artists incorporated three-dimensional aspects into lacquer compositions by playing with spatial differentiation and vanishing-point perspective.

As an important part of Vietnamese artistic history, lacquer painting also offers us treasured glimpses into Vietnam’s rich past. Often depicting representations of nature, people, and landscapes, together with the life and customs of the country, the lacquer works from this era gift us with the opportunity to look at moments lost to the currents of history, time, and memory. They also pay homage to the natural beauty found in Vietnam’s surrounding environs, ranging from majestic mountains to delicate leaves. Hence, its importance as a Vietnamese fine art form is inextricably tied with its culture and history, and remains a significant part of Vietnam’s artistic legacy even today.

The present lot A Family of Deer in a Forest  is an exquisitely detailed triptych originating from the renowned lacquer master Pham Hau. It offers a glimpse into the natural beauty of the Vietnamese landscape inhabited only by native flora and fauna, its serenity undisturbed by human activity. The work’s understated elegance is evident in the skillful juxtaposition of light and shadow elements, expressive brushstrokes and delicate etchings. As one of the greatest lacquer artists in Vietnamese history, Pham Hau had a fine grasp of both Western and Eastern aesthetic principles. In this work, he combines the evocative essence of the natural landscape with precise silhouettes and three-dimensional perspective to create a subtle yet refined masterpiece.

The leftmost panel of the triptych is almost entirely obscured by a dense clump of banana leaves. Upon closer inspection, one can see details such as the fine, wavy lines Pham Hau scored across the leaves to give them texture. In between the gaps of the leaves are glimpses of a hill in the distance, whose gentle slope continues down across the other two panels of the triptych, lending a sense of continuity to the natural landscape in the background. The height of the slope recedes just as the viewer’s eye alights on the middle and rightmost panels, which are inhabited by the titular family of deer who make up the focal point of the painting.

Painted in gold, the deer graze and rest in contentment amidst the lush foliage. Considering the spatial positions of the deer, their difference in sizes offers the viewer the opportunity to appreciate Pham Hau’s skill in suggesting a depth of field within the composition. At the same time, one can witness the mutual influences of French naturalism and Chinese wildlife painting exhibited in this work. The subtle shading on the bodies of the deer gives them a corporeality which is a contrast to the flatness of the vegetation surrounding them. Pham Hau employed the visual motif of deer in several of his lacquer works as a metaphor for harmony, compassion, peace, and longevity. Hence, the inclusion of deer in this painting suggests a realm of peace and serenity.

Pham Hau’s penchant for detail is also illustrated in the sheer variety of flora he includes into the texture of the landscape. From the slim silhouettes of the palm trees in the background, to the abundance of wildflowers beneath the deer’s hooves, the myriad shapes and lines forming the foliage adds visual richness and complexity to the painting.  The tiny specks of white-purple colour from the eggshell inlays that form the wildflowers contribute an understated contrast to the black, brown, and gold palette that dominates the painting.

The present work is an exceptional example of Pham Hau’s skillful composition and ability for exquisite detailing. As an eloquent visual metaphor for the harmony found within the rhythms of nature, its juxtaposition of simplicity and luxury, and of flora and fauna, highlights its quiet elegance. Pham Hau’s mastery of the medium marks him as one of his generation’s best, and this particular work epitomises the beauty that can be found in his repertoire of lacquer works.

Last record at Sotheby’s:

Phạm Hầu, A Family in a Forest Scenery. Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4 April 2015, Lot 1031, for 875,000 HKD (112,871 USD) © Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s. Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Hong Kong, 30 Sep 2017, 05:00 PM

Lê Phổ (1907-2001), La famille (The Family), circa 1938-40

Étiquettes

Lê Pho

Lot 1027. Lê Phổ (1907-2001), La famille (The Family), signed in Vietnamese and Chinese, stamped with the seal of the artist; titled on the reverse; ink and gouache on silk laid on paper; 63 by 46 cm; 24 3/4 by 18 1/4 in.; executed circa 1938-40. Estimate 1,500,000 — 2,500,000 HKD. © Sotheby’s.

Provenance: Acquired from Galerie Romanet by the previous owner, thence by descent
Private Asian Collection

Note: This season, Sotheby’s is proud to offer an exceptional and elaborate silk painting by the Vietnamese master Lê Phổ. La Famille epitomises the astounding beauty and elegance of Le Pho’s works, which often feature romanticised illustrations of 19^th century Vietnamese life. The present lot depicts a family of four comprising of a father, mother, and their two sons. In a rare move for Lê Phổ, who mostly painted women and children, the artist  includes a male subject in this composition—his stolid presence balances the playful and affectionate interactions of his wife and children. Charming and refined, this tender family portrait paints an image of domestic bliss undisturbed by worldly concerns.

Born to the Viceroy of Tonkin in 1907, Lê Phổ’s privileged early life formed the basis of inspiration for many of his later works. He was one of the first graduates of the École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine in Hanoi, the art academy founded by the French artist Victor Tardieu. Together with fellow graduates like Mai Trung Thu and Vu Cao Dam, Le Pho defined the pioneering wave of modern  artists who helped establish a new canon of Vietnamese art. As a result of his training, Lê Phổ’s artistic style was a synthesis of French and Vietnamese approaches–a distinctive aesthetic that made him highly popular both in his home country and abroad, especially in Paris, where he lived and worked for the latter part of his life. Through exhibitions in Algiers (1941), Paris (1945), Brussels (1948), San Francisco (1962), and New York (1963), Lê Phổ garnered acclaim as one of the greatest Vietnamese artists of his time.

La Famille is a charmingly exquisite example of the Lê Phổ’s celebrated silk works. One of his early achievements as a young artist was the  perfection of silk painting as a technique. Lê Phổ favoured painting on Japanese pongee silk glued on a board, using gouache and ink to render his subjects. His light touch and finely-executed brushwork imbue his works with a subtle brilliance in texture and colour; the works’ gentle elegance embodies the new heights of sophistication and artistry Lê Phổ reached in the medium.

Much of the beauty found in Lê Phổ’s oeuvre stems from his poetic, serene vignettes of domestic life set in lush interior spaces and gardens. La Famille offers a glimpse into the private moment shared by the family in the painting—a window into their idyllic lifestyles. The mother embraces one of her children with her left arm, tilting her face towards him as he kisses her on the cheek. The child’s seemingly spontaneous action highlights the strength of the mother-son bond; her serene countenance exudes a sense of quiet pleasure at his sweetly affectionate gesture. With her right hand, the mother grasps the piece of fabric the other mischievous child is playing with. This boy seems to have stolen the fabric from the bowl of sewing materials lying forgotten by her lap. The father looks on indulgently at his family with a countenance of peaceful contentment. The unstudied, almost casual arrangement of the family’s positions in the present work highlights the intimacy of the tableau captured by Lê Phổ.

Lê Phổ’s consummate mastery of silk painting is evident in this sublime work. He uses a subtle, diaphanous colour palette that complements the delicate nature of silk, lending the painting an ethereal feeling. Lê Phổs delicate brushstrokes, the lack of harsh lines, and the use of solid colours all recall the look of traditional Chinese ink paintings. In contrast to the understated shades of black and lilac worn by the adults, the children are garbed in hues of yellow, emerald, and vermilion, underscoring the lively energy they bring to the work. Lê Phổ also conveys the flowing elegance of their outfits by illustrating how the fabric drapes softly around their forms. The graceful harmony of the painting complements Lê Phổ’s penchant for painting idealised images of domestic life defined by kinship and familial love.

The key relationship illustrated in this beautiful work—that of the mother and children—highlights Lê Phổ’s unparalleled ability to adapt Western visual motifs to a Vietnamese context. His visits to Europe as a young artist, where he marvelled at the religious works of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Memling, inspired him to start painting his own versions of the Madonna and child theme. At the same time, he was also strongly influenced by the subject matter and aesthetics of French Impressionism. He incorporated a lighter palette into his later works à la Matisse and Bonnard while nonetheless retaining some of the calligraphic sensibilities of traditional Chinese ink painting. Thus, Lê Phổ’s painterly style is an alluring mélange of French, Vietnamese, and Chinese influences that he amalgamated into his unique artistic vocabulary.

Besides paying visual homage to French impressionist art, La Famille also illustrates the paramount importance of the family as a social unit in Vietnam. It emphasises Confucian norms with regards to the family as the basis of harmony and order in the nation, highlighting Lê Phổ’s strong connection to traditional Vietnamese culture. The duality of French and Vietnamese cultural influences in Le Pho’s art defines his enduring appeal; the ease with which he navigates both artistic traditions is a testament to his rightly-earned position as a maestro of modern Vietnamese art.

Lê Phổ’s works give us a window into the idyllic existence of the Vietnamese elite and the rich history of Vietnam’s treasured past. Even as the country was reshaped by the forces of colonialism and communism over the course of his life, the eternal, self-contained worlds of Lê Phổs paintings remain unchanged; elegant interiors and luxuriant gardens inhabited by demure ladies and rosy-cheeked children dominate his prolific oeuvre. In that vein, La Famille is a work of timeless beauty, underscored by a rich sense of nostalgia for halcyon days.

Lê Phổ, Family Life, circa 1937-1939. Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2 April 2017, Lot 1022, 9,100,000 HKD (1,171,005 USD) © Sotheby’s

Lê Phổ, Le Petit Family (The Small Family), circa 1940-1949. Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2012, Lot 269, for 740,000 HKD (95,455 USD) © Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s. Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Hong Kong, 30 Sep 2017, 05:00 PM

A silver mounted and mother of pearl decorated dagger, Vietnam, circa 1900

Lot 35. A silver mounted and mother of pearl decorated dagger, Vietnam, circa 1900. Estimate 600 €. Courtesy Czerny’s

Straight, double-edged blade; the grip covered with silver foil finely decorated with a dragon in high relief on both sides; wooden scabbard finely decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays portraying a pen, scrolls, a mandolin, a shell and floral decorations, silver mounts embossed with floral motifs. length 48.5 cm.

Belles et Rares Armes Antiques & Armures chez Czerny’s, Sarzana, Italy, le 16 Septembre 2017 à 10h

A lacquer plate, Vietnam, 19th century

Lot 253. A lacquer plate, Vietnam, 19th century. Estimate 300 €. Courtesy Czerny’s

Black ground finely decorated with mother of pearl inlays. diameter 34 cm.

Céramiques et Objets d’Art de la Chine chez Czerny’s, Sarzana, Italy, le 29 Septembre 2017 à 14h00