LÊ VĂN XƯƠNG (1917-1988), “SPRING TRIP”

In the 1950s, Hà Nội was still quite complicated due to the war. Painter Lê Văn Xương was still in Sài Gòn with his family at that time. As a talented artist, his works, regardless of the theme, were still romantic, beautiful and poetic. In Vietnamese painting, the image of two young women holding hands and walking around was a popular motif of Indochinese painters such as Nguyễn Gia Trí, Nguyễn Tiến Chung, Hoàng Tích Chù, Nguyễn Văn Tỵ, Trần Phúc Duyên… Lê Văn Xương also loved this theme. With “Spring trip”, he expressed the elegance and grace in the image of two beautiful young women walking around in spring with gentle, soft emotions. Under the skillful brushstrokes, completely mastering the technique, his brush seemed to glide across the silk surface, sometimes stopping at a few highlights as the lines, but everything was gentle like a spring breeze vaguely wafting in the space. The gentle purple, the noble yellow of the áo dài with the hand-held paper fan and the tilted hat, the two beautiful, radiant faces have made the painting imbued with the femininity of Vietnamese girls. “Spring trip” was created in 1950, recalling the song “Hà Nội, towards the distant city” by musician Hoàng Dương, also composed in 1950. If you are somewhere far away, looking at “Young women on a spring trip”, in your ears will ring the lyrics and melody of “Towards Hà Nội”, surely everyone will feel full of nostalgia for the homeland…

LÊ VĂN XƯƠNG (1917-1988)
“Spring trip”, 1950
Ink and watercolor on silk
Signed and dated in the lower right corner
25 × 38 cm
Provenance: Collection of Ms Lê Y Lan, the artist’s daughter