Masterpiece of Ha Long painting 5m long at Indochina fine art exhibition

The painting "Ha Long Bay" (oil painting, 1934) by Jean-Louis Paguenaud is the highlight of the exhibition "Dream of the Far East"

Using oil paints on canvas, Paguenaud recorded a corner of Ha Long Bay with green landscapes and rich vegetation. He was once sent to Vietnam by the French government in the early 20th century as a "navy" painter - a noble title for outstanding painting talents. After returning to France, in 1934, he recalled and recreated the landscape at his studio.

Looking at the painting at the exhibition, researcher Ngo Kim Khoi - who specializes in Indochinese fine art - evaluated the work as an interesting masterpiece with vibrant colors, expressing the senses of a European painter who first came to a country. tropical country. The paintings represent the style of exoticism - only artistic inspiration evoked from strange and new lands.

Mr. Ace Le - the event's curator - said that displaying this painting was a big challenge for Sotheby's, the exhibition organizer. The painting belongs to a person's personal collection in Hanoi, once there was a phenomenon of slackening, being lost due to the weather. When borrowing paintings, experts only have 12 days to transport and restore them to the best condition before presenting them to the public.

The process of lowering and wrapping the picture took four days because the work weighed 160 kg. The team mobilized an art-handling team of 15 people to pack up and set up scaffolding. When it was time to transport the paintings to Ho Chi Minh City, because the collector's house was located in an alley, the team had to calculate to bring the paintings to the main road with the least vibration, then wrap the bubble paper and move them. by container truck for three days to the South.

The last step - restoration and tensioning - is the most difficult stage, due to the lack of experts in the country. Hien Nguyen - who specializes in restoration and practice in France for 17 years - conducts research with a group of 20 people. According to Ace Le, Jean-Louis Paguenaud has excellent drawing skills, the face of the painting is still 90% good, it only took the team two and a half days to restore the small scratches. They also planned to install a wall strong enough to hang paintings for four days at the exhibition site.

The painting "Ba Vi Range seen from Son Tay field", Joseph Inguimerty (1896-1971) painted in 1932-1933

In addition to the work, 55 other paintings of Indochina by European artists were first presented to the Vietnamese public at an event organized by Sotheby's - one of the leading art auction houses. The exhibition is divided into three parts, corresponding to three rooms. In the first room, the audience admires the paintings of lecturers from the Indochina Fine Arts School (1924-1945), the cradle of Vietnamese modern art, who trained many famous artists such as Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, and Nguyen Gia. Tri.

The second room displays the works of "navy painters" who came to Vietnam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, laying the foundation for later Indochina art. The third room is the paintings of "traveling painters" - who came to Vietnam on scholarship, family migration, showing the artistic journey of Western painting.

56 works were borrowed by the organizers from 25 Vietnamese collectors living at home and abroad. Compared to Sotheby's, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City in 2022 about four Vietnamese artists, the paintings in this exhibition are easier to verify about their background, because most French artists still have relatives living in them. . The series of paintings are introduced for non-commercial purposes, mainly focusing on cultural and historical values ​​so that Vietnamese audiences have the opportunity to learn and approach.

Adolt Obst's "Upstream of Tau Hu Canal" (1869-1945)

Guest - singer Thanh Bui was touched when he saw the works of French artists, from the painting of Tau Hu canal (Saigon) to the rice fields of Son Tay (Hanoi). “I feel their love for Vietnam even though it's been a century. I hope there will be more exhibitions like that, so that not only the general public but also students know and appreciate the ancient quintessential values,” he said.

Sotheby's is one of the world's largest art and antiques auction houses, present in 40 countries and territories. In 2021, Sotheby's revenue is 5 billion USD in paintings alone. Ace Le is an independent art curator and researcher. He is currently a consultant of the Vietnam Art Database (ViAA), a member of the Art Council of Australia's International Art Leadership 2022 program. He holds a Master's degree in Museum Studies and Curatorial Practice from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.