In the online auction of Lynda Trouvé, March 1, 2024 there will be the work L’escale du marchand à la charrette, silk, dimensions 40×47 cm, dated 1936 in Hà Nội, signed U VAN AN. Based on the caption on the work, it can be seen that he created this artwork while studying at art school.
Artist Ủ Văn An (1911-1989/1990), born in Gò Đen, Long An. He went to Hà Nội to study in class 10 (1934-1939), Indochina Fine Arts College. The class has seven students: Ủ Văn An, Vương Hữu Dũng, Nguyễn Văn Mậu, Nguyễn Văn Quế, Phạm Gia Giang (studying sculpture), Lao Hầu Hinh (Laotian), Nguyễn Văn Yến (born in Chợ Lớn, Sài Gòn).
Thus, Ủ Văn An and Nguyễn Văn Yến were two rare students in the South of Việt Nam studying at the school.
When mentioning Ủ Văn An, people in the Vietnamese art world often think of his four lacquer works currently kept at Fine Arts Museum of Hồ Chí Minh City.
“After graduating, artist Ủ Văn An returned to the South to paint and favored traditional lacquer medium. The period when artist Ủ Văn An studied at the school was also the time when Vietnamese artists such as Nguyễn Gia Trí, Trần Quang Trân, Tô Ngọc Vân… were exploring, discovering and Vietnamese lacquer was entering a new phase – fine art lacquer with color changes and application of Western painting techniques.” (According to the book Urban Fine Arts of Sài Gòn – Gia Định by author Uyên Huy)
Works of Ủ Văn An are currently quite rare on international auction floors. Currently, Viet Art View only has information and images about a few lacquer works by Ủ Văn An in the style of the Indochina period.
Thus, the appearance of the silk artwork signed Ủ Văn An at this auction of Lynda Trouvé will be a significant stimulation for collectors. In the research perspective, “precious – rare – old” collections always win favor from both experts and art lovers.
Looking at the work through photos and simple introductions from the auction house, Viet Art View hopes this will be an original work by artist Ủ Văn An. And if that is true, through this work, we have more documents not only about Ủ Văn An but also a silk artwork to compare with the silk works of artists of the same period. Thereby, we increasingly understand the style and techniques of silk painting during the Indochina Modern Art period.
Do not take into account the estimated price from 3000 to 5000 EUR, because the estimated price is just a number. In the case of this work, people will pay attention to the price of the work and buy it at the true value that the work owns. Maybe the selling price will be 5 to 10 times higher, or even higher.
Let’s wait until the auction day. Viet Art View will send you information after the auction.
Written by Viet Art View
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