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Studio of Nguyen Phan Chanh (Vietnamese, 1892-1984) Len Dong or…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
4-Jun-2023
Lot No.
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Description:
Studio of Nguyen Phan Chanh (Vietnamese, 1892-1984) Len Dong or 'Une Experience Mediumique' ('A temple medium offering incense') Signed in Chinese and stamped with the artist's seal (center/upper left) Ink and gouache on silk Painted circa 1960 following the 1931 original version Having graduated in 1930 from the first course of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de L'Indochine in Hanoi, this image is among the artist's best-known works and considered an icon of Vietnamese Art, originally painted in 1931 and exhibited at the International/Colonial exhibition in Paris in 1931, where it was acquired by a French collector. As far as is known that first painting is still held by descendants of that collector. It is known that the artist repainted this picture in 1972 for the collection of the Vietnam fine Arts Museum in Hanoi. The fine Arts Museum also requested Nguyen Phan Chanh to reproduce some of his own paintings from the 1930s during the 1960s when the American bombing of North Vietnam started. The Museum was concerned that national treasures might be lost forever if the Museum storage was destroyed. The most important thirty or so national treasure paintings were evacuated into caves in the countryside. Also, when loaning out paintings for international exhibitions, the culture ministry (and its museums) often followed the practice of making reproductions for the loans, either by the original artists during their lifetime or by other artists employed by the government. During the last twenty-six years only two other versions of the Lendong painting are known to have come on the market: at Christie's Hong Kong 'Asian 20th century Art Sale' on 25 November 2018, lot 341, catalogued as 'Ink and gouache on silk, 46 x 62.5 cm, signed and inscribed in Chinese (middle left), one seal of the artist, painted circa 1960 following the 1931 original version'. The painting sold for Hk$225,000 (approx. Us$26,500). A similar version of Len Dong was sold in Paris on 14 March 2022 at Aguttes Auctions' sale 'Painters of Asia, Major Works', lot 43, catalogued as 'La Sorciere, Follower of Nguyen Phan Chanh' which sold for Euro136,500 (approx. Us$149,000). This work is accompanied by the catalogue raisonne of the artist's work, a limited edition published in 1992 by the National fine Arts Museum in Hanoi to commemorate the centennial anniversary of his birth, titled Tranh Lua {Silk Paintings}, Nguyen Phan Chanh. This painting is illustrated on page 27, plate 4. Provenance: Private collection, Melbourne, Australia, 46.0 x 65.2 cm. Image size 47.5 x 66.0 cm - folio size 68.8 x 87.7 cm- frame size
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Unclassified