The exhibition "The Faraway East of Dreams and Pursuits"

Following the success of last year's exhibition "The Faraway East of Dreams and Pursuits," featuring the quartet of renowned painters Pho, Thu, Luu, and Dam, Sotheby's returns this year with "The Faraway East of Dreams and Pursuits," to tell the story and artistic perspective of French artists who have traveled through or stayed in this land and among its people.

Ace Lê, Managing Director of Sotheby's Vietnam market, shared: “The 100th anniversary of the Indochina School of Fine Arts is approaching, and this is a fitting occasion to look back at the contributions of the generation of French painters to Indochina, not only in establishing an academy, but also in creating an entire art movement with a vast legacy. Their artistic journey carried within it the ambitions, dreams, and perspectives of each individual and the collective, demonstrating the influence of the West on the flow of Vietnamese art, and vice versa.”

Let's admire and explore some of the representative artworks by the artists at the exhibition "The Faraway East of Dreams and Pursuits".

Victor Tardieu received the Indochina Prize in 1920. He moved to Hanoi in 1921 and, together with Nguyen Nam Son, co-founded the Indochina School of Fine Arts in 1925 under a decree from the then Governor-General of Indochina. He died in Hanoi in 1937 while still in office. Some of his works include:

Joseph Inguimberty (1896-1971) joined the faculty of the Indochina School of Fine Arts in 1926 as a professor of Decorative Painting. Inguimberty was trained in both classical and modern styles. He quickly immersed himself in local culture and gained a reputation as a versatile teacher, teaching oil painting while also passionately embracing lacquer and silk painting techniques.

Alix Aymé (1894-1989) was invited by Inguimberty, through Principal Victor Tardieu, to collaborate on research into lacquer art at the Indochina School of Fine Arts. Aymé was a female artist who contributed to the revival of Vietnamese lacquer art. With her dedicated observation and research, Aymé meticulously compiled notes on the development of lacquer art in Indochina, which were published in the Overseas Research Journal, issue 12, 1952.

Esvariste Jonchère (1982 - 1956) was a sculptor who received the Rome Prize in 1925. He came to Hanoi as part of the Indochina Prize program in 1932. After Victor Tardieu's death in 1937, Jonchère succeeded him as headmaster of the Indochina School of Fine Arts until the school closed in 1945.

Sculptor Paul Ducuing (1867 - 1949), a friend of the Governor-General of Indochina Albert Sarraut, was sent to Vietnam from 1921 to 1924 to create several busts of Emperor Khai Dinh. The version below was made in 1922 during the Emperor's historic visit to France.

Charles Dominique Fouqueray was appointed Naval Painter in 1908, after two unsuccessful attempts to apply. He received the Doogn Duong Prize in 1914, but due to the war, he could only travel there in 1921. Fouqueray was renowned for his talent in painting and lithography, and his work "Lacquer Workshop in Hanoi" was printed on special Navy paper with a watermark. Later, he became President of the French Colonial Artists' Association.

Roger Nedelec (1927 - 2015) was a French military painter who served in Indochina from 1949 to 1951. He received the Legion of Honor in 1951 after his trip to Tonkin. When painting Indochina, his sole subject was Ha Long Bay.

Gaston Roullet (1847 - 1925) was appointed Naval Artist in 1885 and was the first Naval Artist to set foot in Vietnam. While there, he met and became close friends with Dr. Charles-Édouard Hocquard, author of the famous book "A Campaign in Tonkin". When they traveled to Hue together, Hocquard took photographs while Roullet sketched, leading the locals to nickname them "The Mandarin with the Lamp" and "The Mandarin with the Pen".

André Maire graduated from the Paris School of Fine Arts and was a student and son-in-law of Émile Bernard. He joined the French colonial infantry, went to Vietnam in the 1920s, and returned in the 1950s. He was one of the artists who traveled to the most parts of Indochina. He taught painting in both Da Lat and Saigon. Maire's works depicting Indochina are featured in many prestigious museums in France and around the world.

Text and photos: Bi Le