Lot 14
Vu Cao Dam(1908-2000)Maternité Rose
27 November 2021, 10:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceSold for HK$615,000 inc. premium
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Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000)
Maternité Rose
1965
signed and dated 65; with a gallery label on the reverse
oil on canvas
72 by 59.5 cm.
28 3/8 by 23 3/8 in.
The work is accompanied by a copy of a certificate of authenticity issued by Wally Findlay Galleries, dated March 28, 1969.
1965
signed and dated 65; with a gallery label on the reverse
oil on canvas
72 by 59.5 cm.
28 3/8 by 23 3/8 in.
The work is accompanied by a copy of a certificate of authenticity issued by Wally Findlay Galleries, dated March 28, 1969.
Footnotes
Provenance
Findlay Galleries, New York
Private Collection, New York
武高談
Maternité Rose
一九六五年作
簽名：Vu cao dam 65
油彩畫布
來源
美國紐約Findlay Galleries
美國紐約私人收藏
Among all the great Vietnamese masters recognised today, Vu Cao Dam remains one of the most admired for the finesse and poetic beauty of his body of work. Born in Hanoi in 1908 into a scholarly family, Catholic but of Confucian tradition, he entered Hanoi's École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine in 1926 at 18 years old, a year after the school first opened. At only 23, he was selected to participate in the 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition and gained much acclaim from the local press and art critics of the time.
The subject of Mother and Child was a favourite theme often visited by Vu Cao Dam, and this work is a perfect example of his sensitive interpretation of this age-old theme. This peaceful and contemplative depiction shows a young mother seated in royal ease, leaning on one arm as she cradles her infant against her chest with the other. They are surrounded by a dream-like garden set in twilight, leaving the viewer guessing if it is night or day.
The artist integrated the colours through form with painterly strokes used to highlight the transition of the pigments. The spattered patterns suggest leaves and flowers in shifting light set in this romantic and mysterious landscape. One senses the artist's instinctive use of colour symbolism as he employed predominantly dark pigments which he contrasted sparingly with pure white, as seen in the baby's white clothing and the shimmering backlit glow.