Initially, the work "Phnom Penh Landscape" was estimated to fetch between 200,000 and 300,000 euros. When the auction began, the starting price of the work was 150,000 euros and gradually increased to a high of 940,000 euros, finally the painting was successfully auctioned for 1.21 million euros after taxes.
Previously, this work belonged to the collection of Mr. Henry Kraemer's family. In 1943, while living in Hanoi, Henry and his wife bought an eight-panel screen by Le Quoc Loc - at that time a newly graduated artist, unknown and facing economic difficulties. In 1953, Henry Kraemer's family brought the work back to France to live.
The 8-panel screen "Phnom Penh Landscape" is a lacquer painting with a total size of 400 x 199 cm (each panel is 50 x 199 cm). - Photo: Asium
According to Asium, "Phnom Penh Landscape" has a delicate and gentle beauty, divided into three perspectives: monks praying, some people blessing women and people walking around. Typical trees of Phnom Penh such as palm trees, coconut trees, banana trees... also appear in the work.
The subtle blend of colors highlights two distinct shades that are still in harmony with one another. If yellow symbolizes spirituality and happiness, red symbolizes life and goodness. Not only that, the use of materials to create lacquer works such as wood, lacquer resin, gold leaf or eggshells also brings viewers a feeling of warmth and peace.
Portrait of painter Le Quoc Loc (1918 - 1987)
Art researcher Ngo Kim Khoi was contacted by the auction house to write an introduction to the work in Vietnamese and French. They also provided him with documents related to the origin of the screen.
Mr. Khoi shared: "In addition to the beauty and grandeur of the painting, the clear origin of the work is also a decisive factor. This is a good sign for the Vietnamese Fine Arts market when another painting reaches the million dollar mark. We do not evaluate art through material things, but we cannot deny this."
In addition to the painting "Phnom Penh Landscape", the collection of Vietnamese artworks internationally is also showing signs of improvement. While many events and activities are still limited due to the impact of the pandemic, recently, many Vietnamese works have been auctioned internationally with prices reaching tens of billions of VND.
The painting “Ancient temple scene in northern Vietnam” by artist Pham Hau was sold for 8.04 million Hong Kong dollars (more than 23 billion VND) at Sotheby's Hong Kong auction in April this year. - Photo: Sotheby's Hong Kong
The painting "Girl in a Scarf" by artist Le Pho was priced at 8.65 million Hong Kong dollars (about 25.3 billion VND) at Christie's Hong Kong auction in May. - Photo: Christie
The painting "Portrait of Miss Phuong" by artist Mai Trung Thu was priced at 24.3 million Hong Kong dollars (more than 70.5 billion VND) at Sotheby's Hong Kong auction house in April this year. - Photo: Sotheby's Hong Kong
