Lacquer painting of Vietnamese landscape in Indochina period

The painting "View of the Midlands of Vietnam" by artists and students of Indochina Fine Arts College sold for 1.5 million HKD (4.5 billion VND).

Six lacquer works by Vietnamese artists were put up for auction in Sotheby's Hong Kong's "Modern Discovery: Encounter" session, which took place online from July 22 to 29. In particular, the painting Landscape of the Midlands of Vietnam, titled Indochina Fine Arts College, sold for the highest price - 1.5 million HKD (4.5 billion VND).

Lacquer consists of six panels, depicting the landscape of Vietnamese villages. Taking the boat on the river as the main theme, surrounded by typical Vietnamese trees such as bamboo and banana. In the distance are houses on the water and hills. The image of village girls under the trees enhances the lightness and poetry of the scene.

According to the auction house, the paintings are the work of artists and students of the College of Fine Arts of Indochina (MBAI), under the guidance of Nguyen Gia Tri and Pham Hau. The signature MBAI on the back confirms that this is the work of a collective. Paintings embody aesthetic perfection and a popular theme in lacquer.

In his 1993 book Cartographic Mapping Institute, artist Truong Hanh wrote: "The color is as dark as the darkness at night, but also as vivid as the color of a yellow leaf in the sun. The yellow color seems to rise up to create the picture. balance and unity. One feels like touching velvet, satin, porcelain and precious stones...".

The painting "View of the Midlands of Vietnam" consists of six panels, total size 100x193 cm. Photo: Sotheby's

Lacquer painting Fish by artist Nguyen Khang was sold for 1.26 million HKD (3.7 billion VND), Pham Hau's harvest was 567,000 HKD (1.7 billion VND). In addition, works by Tran Phuc Duyen, Dinh Van Dan... are also sold at high prices.

Indochina Fine Arts College is considered the cradle of Vietnamese lacquer art, according to Sotheby's. Lacquer appeared in Vietnam from the third century BC through the use of latex to make boats, gilded utensils in the royal palace... However, the introduction of paint into the assembly Real professional painting began through the course of French painter Joseph Inguimberty at Indochina Fine Arts College.

According to the book Painters of Indochina Fine Arts College, during a painting session at Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam, Joseph Inguimberty was amazed by the ancient paintings of diaphragms, couplets, and worshiping objects painted in gold and gilded with colors. Rich colors here. He proposed to the principal Victor Tardieu to include painting ta in the program of research and study. After that, the school opened a technical workshop to research and develop lacquer painting. By 1938, lacquer became the main teaching profession.

In his essay French painting background and influence in Indochina, French scholar Claude Mahoudot wrote: "Joseph Inguimberty really created a painting movement and put our paint at the service of artists. very important position in the history of Indochinese art". The years 1930-1940 is considered as the golden age of Vietnamese lacquerware with many famous names such as Pham Hau, Nguyen Gia Tri, Nguyen Van Trung, Nguyen Khang, Hoang Tich Chu... The painters continuously improved. advance in technology, color, creating a distinctive feature.

The lacquer work of Nguyen Gia Tri's Spring Garden of Central South North, Binh Phong is recognized as a national treasure. Meanwhile, Pham Hau has four lacquer paintings reaching the million-dollar mark, including the work Golden Sunset on Ha Long Bay - once in the collection of King Bao Dai - which sold for 1.24 million USD at the end of 2021. .

The painting "Front" by painter Nguyen Gia Tri, size 128x37x44 cm was born in 1944. Photo: Vietnam Fine Arts Museum

Hieu Nhan