“REFLECTION BY THE RIVER” OF TRẦN PHÚC DUYÊN (1923-1993)

Trần Phúc Duyên studied in class 16 of Indochina Fine Arts College (1942-3/9/1945) with Võ Lăng (Jean Võ Lăng), Đinh Minh, Quang Phòng, Phan Thông. After that, he and Võ Lăng lived and worked in Europe.

Unlike Jean Võ Lăng who found inspiration in oil, creating European landscapes with modern style, Trần Phúc Duyên leisurely and slowly contemplated with lacquer. Since moving to France and then living in Switzerland, Trần Phúc Duyên had focused on painting and researching lacquer. His style went from realism to invisible abstraction; finally in a state of “meditation” with personal contemplation. Trần Phúc Duyên did not have a family, devoting all his thoughts and feelings to art. His beloved homeland Việt Nam also occupied his mind.

“Reflection by the river” is in the theme of Vietnamese countryside with images of rivers, waterfront, boats and vegetation beside it. This is a prominent theme, which he focused on and it also built the name of Trần Phúc Duyên to become one of the typical painters with works imbued with Vietnamese soul. From 1948 to 1954, Trần Phúc Duyên created about 200 lacquer paintings. “Reflection by the river” is probably one of the last large-sized works he created in Việt Nam.

The painting highlights the beauty of the homeland Việt Nam, gentle, gorgeous and peaceful. In a large setting, he often showed rich flora along with the water surface. “Reflection by the river” has the main red color, the composition is arranged almost in half the horizontal surface of the painting but is reasonable, not so simple. It both depicts the scene stretching along the riverbank in the Northern region, and cleverly uses light as a subject in the painting. On that horizontal line is a rich vegetation meticulously described; Below is an image of trees casting shadows on the water, the feeling is more suggestive than descriptive but in fact it is handled in a sharp way. It can be said that the painting creates a strong visual impression, and more than that, evokes a passionate love for the homeland Việt Nam.

TRẦN PHÚC DUYÊN (1923-1993)
“Reflection of the river”, 1954
Five lacquer panels
97 × 163 cm