N'GUYEN GIA TRI (1908-1993),
VILLAGE IN THE VEGETATION
Large polychrome lacquered wood panel
Signed Nguyen Giatri Jan. 1940 lower left
100 x 160 cm
Provenance: personal commission from Jean ARNOUX (1909-1941), in charge of bridges and roads in Indochina until 1940.
This large panel depicts a village nestled in lush vegetation, depicted in shades of gold
in shades of gold, yellow ochre, plum, red and shades of brown, quite characteristic of the artist.
The composition is structured: in the center, thatched cottages amid tall palm trees. To the right, the village sinks into the shadows of the trees, where only a few light touches of eggshell inlay illuminate the darkness, while to the left, it borders a stream with buffalo, then rice paddies, in luminous contrast. In the right foreground, as is often the case with Gia Tri's work, the large leaves of a banana tree are treated in light relief.
The signature, in letters, appears at bottom left, as if scratched in negative into the gold lacquer of the foliage. Before the indication of the year, 1940, is what appears to be the abbreviation janv-.
About the artist
N'GUYEN GIA TRI, considered one of the greatest lacquer artists of his time, is one of the artists trained at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine, founded in Hanoi in 1925 by a Frenchman, Victor Tardieu, and a Vietnamese, Nam Son. A direct offshoot of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, its aim was to reconcile Vietnamese traditions with a Western approach to art.
Many Vietnamese artists studied there, and went on to become famous, including Mai-thu, Le Pho, Vû Cao Dàm, Pham Hau and Tran Van Can, with whom Gia Tri worked between 1929, when he entered the school, and 1936, when he graduated.
Dated 1940, our panel is one of a series of works produced between 1937 and 1945, a period widely considered to be the peak of his career as a lacquerer.
In 1946, at the start of the Indochina War, GIA TRI left Vietnam for Hong Kong, where he devoted himself to oil painting. In 1954, with the end of the war, he returned and settled in Saigon, where he set up an art school. His work evolved and, by 1966, he was once again exploring lacquer on panel, but based on abstract themes that had attracted him for some time.
Our panel is quite rare in Gia Tri's work. For one thing, its format is unusual. Small, six-leaf screens of fairly constant dimensions are more common.
Secondly, the absence of figures is rare in the work of Gia Tri, who liked to include villagers in his scenes.
This can be explained by the fact that this panel was a specific commission.
Indeed, in 1939, Jean ARNOUX commissioned this panel directly from him.
About Jean ARNOUX (1909-1941),
Jean ARNOUX, a polytechnician and bridge engineer, was sent to Indochina as head of the bridges and roads department. He was there in 1939, when he placed the order for the panel at Gia Tri.
He also had a project to restore water to the ditches of the Angkor temples, in order to irrigate the entire region.
An aviator, he left Saigon in November 1940, at the controls of the small plane he used to spot his construction sites, flying to Singapore and then London in February 1941.
But his plane crashed in Scotland in September 1941.
The panel he commissioned from Gia Tri was never completed.
His family inherited it, and has kept it to this day.
Bids for lot 90 are not accepted via web platforms. They are subject to a deposit of 10,000 euros via our online payment link: http://paiement.osenat.fr/.
Participation is by telephone or firm order. Please contact the sales administration: osenatparis@osenat.com.
_______________
NGUYEN GIA TRI (1908-1993)
A VILLAGE AMONG LUSH VEGETATION
Large lacquered panel
signed Nguyen Giatri janv. 1940 on the lower left corner
Size
Provenance: personally ordered by Jean ARNOUX (1909-1941), in charge of the bridges and roads in Indochina until 1940.
Gia Tri is considered one of the most famous artist of his time in Vietnam, especially renowned for his lacquer works. His master-pieces were mainly produced during what is called his "golden age" period, between 1937 and 1945. As most of his contemporary fellow artists, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine, founded in Hanoi in 1925, from which he graduated in 1936. He was thus influenced by the "western manner", along with the other students of the school.
With these artists and particularly Gia Tri, the two cultures blend
Estim. 80,000 - 120,000 EUR
