Nguyen Gia Tri

Private Collection, France

The work is in good condition overall with minor wear and handling around the edges. There is evidence of craquelures on the white flowers but this is only visible upon close observation. Examination under ultraviolet lights reveals scattered aged touch-ups but they are minor and in small patches predominantly on the bottom section of 2nd and 3rd panels, the background area near the temple of the last panel and the signature area. This is not visible with the naked eye. Framed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Revered as a master of modern Vietnamese painting, Nguyen Gia Tri is best known for his lacquer works. Born in 1908 in Hà Tây province (North Vietnam) to a family of imperial craftsmen, Gia Tri was trained in L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de L’Indochina in Hanoi. From the inception of his career, Gia Tri’s devotion to the art of lacquer was unparalleled—committing his time entirely to perfecting the technique, he succeeded in revolutionizing this traditional Asian material from a decorative handicraft into a medium of artistic expression. 

Gia Tri’s creations are best known for their hybrid quality. Combining foreign engraving and inlaying methods, modernist abstract composition, principles of European painting with traditional lacquer techniques, Gia Tri produced numerous paintings that adorned the salon of the French Governor of Indochina in Hanoi. The present lot, entitled Paysage (Landscape), is characteristic of Gia Tri’s creations during his artistic golden period. A formidable six-panel lacquer painting, Paysage (Landscape) captures the idyllic setting of rural Vietnam and the diversity of its landscape. Of particular note is Gia Tri’s ingenious use of colour to establish pictorial depth and illusion. The spellbinding use of gold, silver and warm ochres in the foreground is contrasted against the bold shades of maroon that color the background of the work, giving rise to the illusion of space. The work is also exemplary of Gia Tri’s keen eye for detail and attachment toward the bucolic countryside of his youth: the palm trees, bamboos and shrubs are painstakingly rendered in loving detail. 

Paysage (Landscape) is a testament to Gia Tri’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of the medium. Faced with a limited range of colors, Gia Tri drew from a range of raw materials—from crushed and inlaid eggshells to gold, silver and mother-of-pearl—to achieve a wider palate. The shimmering roofs of the pagodas and houses in the present work, for example, are a brainchild of Gia Tri’s innovative and skillful placement of charred eggshells. Visually reminiscent of the imperial architecture of North Vietnam’s Le Dynasty in their elevated hip rafters, the buildings that form the focal point of the work bespeak the artist’s tender nostalgia and familiarity with traditional Vietnamese art forms. 

 

As a whole, there exists an undeniably charming richness to the painting, which reimagines a quintessentially indigenous landscape through the frame of Western linear perspective. A realization of the medium’s greatest artistic potentials, Paysage (Landscape) stands as an example of Gia Tri’s masterful experimentations with Western and Vietnamese techniques.