Lê Phổ

"To harmonize his own temperament and his technique, Le Pho has preserved the process of painting on silk. The very delicacy of the material on which the painting is executed demands a refinement of design and of color to which present day art is not accustomed. But it is precisely this recourse to the art of another age which demonstrates the audacity of this artist and the interest inherent in his efforts."

RAYMOND COGNIAT (1896-1977), author, art critic, journalist, historian of art, head of the arts section of Le Figaro (1957-1977).

An exquisite and mesmerizing masterpiece, Lady with the veil is an exceptionally rare silk painting that epitomizes Lê Phổ’s unparalleled technical mastery in handling this delicate, traditional medium, as well as his ability to articulate the sublime beauty of femininity. The present work gracefully renders the quintessential theme of a young lady enjoying the breeze and sweet fragrance of the flowers in a rose garden. A work executed in the late 1930s to 1940s, this alluring image hails from a crucial early period in the artist’s oeuvre. During this early period, the artist employed the unforgiving and delicate medium of ink and gouache on silk, before turning to oil painting and loose brushwork in his later years.

This work epitomizes the astounding beauty and elegance of Lê Phổ’s works, which often feature romanticized illustrations of Vietnamese life. The picture plane is dominated by a young lady garbed in a traditional green áo dài dress. She stands in front of the rose bushes in a manner that echoes classical portraiture from the Renaissance. Lê Phổ conjures the senses, gracefully rendering the young lady enjoying the fragrance of flowersan important and recurring motif in the artist’s opus, which symbolizes purity and captures the essence of femininity. Her features are delicate and her countenance unfettered. The young maiden retains her calm composure as she enjoys this private moment. The artist masterfully renders the translucent silk scarf wrapped around the maiden’s head, heightening the sense of tactility and sensuality in the scene. In contrast to the light fabric, the lady wears a black opaque scarf around her shoulders, creating a lovely contrast and weight within the composition. Lê Phổ’s subtle shading and restrained color palette emphasizes the diaphanous, delicate nature of silk lending the painting an ethereal quality.

A classically trained painter who was one of the first graduates of the École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochinein Hanoi, Lê Phổ’ was privileged to study under the highbrow tutelage of French artists Victor Tardieu and Joseph Inguimberty. His undeniable flair led him to a scholarship to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he was able to witness European masterworks first-hand. His formative training equipped him with the ability to incorporate the best of Western technical artistry, while developing fresh approaches to convey a Vietnamese cultural identity that was otherwise mysterious to most of the world. A work of timeless beauty that serves as a testament to the artist’s sophisticated mastery of techniques and the glorious heights of Vietnamese modernism, Lady with the veil is a fine and elaborate composition, exemplifying such conceptual synthesis and artistic innovation.

__________________________________________________________________________

「絹本這種媒材非常符合黎譜的性情和技巧。這種材質非常精緻，對設計和色彩處理要求極高，在當今藝術世界當中甚爲罕見。這是屬於另一個時代藝術，黎譜對這種藝術尋求正好展示了藝術家的膽量和創作熱情。」

雷蒙・科尼亞（1896-1977），作家、藝術評論家、記者、藝術史學家及《費加羅報》藝文主編（1957-1977）

《輕紗女子》是一幅精緻迷人的絹本肖像，嶄露黎譜絹本創作的成熟風格與精湛技藝，並展現其描繪女性高貴氣質的獨到技巧，堪稱大師傑作。本作細緻地捕捉年輕女子在玫瑰園中享受微風花香的瞬間，氣質優雅動人，為黎譜經典主題。本幅作品為黎譜1940年間之作，水墨水粉絹本作品要求細膩筆觸及畫功。此後黎氏多以寬闊筆觸的油彩創作為主。

本幅作品散發著優雅氣質，柔美動人，浪漫演繹越南生活。畫中主角為一名身著青綠奧黛的年輕女子，站在白玫瑰叢前，其姿態與文藝復興時期的古典肖像畫互相呼應。持花聞香的年輕女性形象是黎譜作品中反覆出現的重要題材，象徵純潔，彰顯女性獨特氣質。畫中女子五官精緻，神情安謐，正享受著寧靜私密的一刻。黎譜以細膩的筆觸描繪少女頭上披著一條半透明的絲質圍巾，畫面富有觸感，微妙的透明色調與絲綢的精緻特性相輔相成，賦予作品一種空靈的氛圍。

黎譜是河內中南半島美術學院的首批畢業生，師承著名法國藝術家維克多・塔迪歐及約瑟夫・恩桂波提，接受過古典西洋美術訓練。其以過人的天賦獲得巴黎美術學院的獎學金，親身遊歷歐洲，受西方藝術薰陶。早年藝術底蘊使之融會西方藝術技巧之精髓，同時開闢新徑，在當時世界各地對越南文化認識甚少的年代，以畫作發揚越南文化及身份。《輕紗女子》帶著一種永恆之美，展示黎譜精湛的技巧，亦見證越南現代藝術的輝煌成就，嶄露黎譜融合中西的概念和創新。