Artist Mai Trung Thu poses in front of this large scene divided into three parts (Photo courtesy of Vietnam Fine Arts Magazine)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -French auction house Aguttes is focusing on major works by Vietnameseartists on March 11.
Aguttes is putting 37 lotsup for auction, including works by many Asian artists and European artistsfocusing on Asian countries and people.
Twenty-six works in thisauction are by Vietnamese artists.
The highlight of the auction isa wonderful painting by Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980). This painting has avery good provenance – from a private collection in France. It was purchasedfrom artist Thu himself and has been well preserved, according to Bui HoangAnh, a member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association and Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Fine Arts Magazine.
Joy II, silk, 35cm by 95cm was composed byartist Thu in 1963 and was the second painting in a series of three works.There are recorded images of the artist sitting next to these threepaintings.
Afterwards, he split them intothree separate paintings. The third part of JoyIII was sold in 2014. Only the location of the middle painting is currentlyunknown. Aguttes is actively looking for the rest of this series so that theycan assemble all three paintings of the original version.
"With a starting price of100,000 – 150,000 Euros (114,000 - 170,000 USD), it is not known how much thebid can be," said Anh. "But surely this auction will attractbillionaire-art lovers as the search and ownership of the rest of the threepaintings will stimulate desire.
"If all three paintingsare assembled together, this could be the longest silk painting by Thu."
In the certificate, Aguttes'expert Charlotte Reynier wrote that the work shown is highlyappealing for its liveliness and the multitude of characters it portrays.
Many of Thu’s compositionsfeature a very small number of characters in a refined setting. Withcharacteristic precision, he depicts a swarm of children in a variety ofspontaneous attitudes – running around, picking flowers, playing marbles – witha wealth of different expressions.
Thu (1906 - 1980), known as MaiThu, was born to a prominent northern family in Vietnam. In 1937, hewent to France for the International Decorative Arts Exhibition with twofriends he had met during his studies Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam.
Among the works by Vietnameseartists, Nguyen Duc Nung's silk painting CoGai Ben Gio Hoa (Girl With A Flower Basket), has been reviewedby Vietnam Fine Arts Magazine andreceived attention from art lovers.
It is not an excellent work,but it is a rare work by artist Nung (1914-1983).
The painting is worth either asan investment or for collecting in terms of historical value, according to Anh."It is likely that paintings will return to Vietnam because Vietnamesecollectors are fond of paintings of this style which fits with the mellow,romantic soul and aesthetics," said Anh.
The auction began at2.30pm (Paris time)./.