AT AGUTTES, FRANCE
On June 2, 2023, the auction Asian Painters, Major Works was held at Aguttes. Ms Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier, Aguttes’ expert, art director said:
“This new edition of Asian Weeks once again attracted the attention of major international collectors and connoisseurs, from China to the United States, and totaled over €2.4 million. Asian Arts saw several spectacular auction battles on June 1, 2023, notably around Buddhist bronzes, while during the Asian Painters, Major Works auction on June 2, Lê Phổ, Alix Aymé, Mai Trung Thứ, Vũ Cao Đàm and Henry Vollet once again enthralled collectors.
While buyers are becoming increasingly selective and demanding in their purchases, we’ve been observing a diversification of their profiles for several months now.”
Actually, with 55 lots; of which 27 lots were sold; 28 lots were unsold, the auction is rated as average. However, the total value of the auction still reached 2.4 million EUR. In particular, Lê Phổ’s silk painting, ‘Sur la terrasse-On the terrace’, circa 1940, 57×38.1 cm was sold for 641,600 EUR. The second painting of Lê Phổ, ‘Femme au balcon-On the balcony’, circa 1935, silk, 29.5×22.8 cm was sold for 195,000 EUR (tax included).
Lê Phổ (1907-2001). Sur la terrasse, circa 1940. Ink and colors on silk, signed upper left 57×38.1 cm. Sold for: 641,600 EUR.
Lê Phổ (1907-2001). Femme au balcon, circa 1935. Ink and colors on silk, signed upper left. 29,5×22,8 cm. Provenance: Private collection of a Frenchman holding an important position in Indochina (acquired from the artist in Hanoi in the early 1930s); Then by descent, France. Sold for: 195,000 EUR.
In particular, the work ‘On the terrace’ was in the exhibition catalogue of three Indochinese painters – Mai Trung Thứ, Lê Phổ, Vũ Cao Đàm, 1942 in Algeria with the number 48 (on the catalogue). With the delicate colour scheme and shaping characteristic of Lê Phổ of the Romanet period – the peak of Lê Phổ’s career, ‘On the terrace’ still achieved a high price. Although it did not reach the price of Aguttes, but in a time when the market is as quiet as now, this is still a good price.
And two oil paintings with Vietnamese landscape themes by French artist Henry Emile Vollet (1861-1945) with a total value of 67,600 EUR (one 39,000 and the other 28,600 EUR) is also a surprise because of the high price. In fact, Henry Emile Vollet’s paintings of European landscapes are auctioned at a small price, only 300-500 EUR, it’s special case for one painting sold at 4,000 EUR.
Henry Emile Vollet, at Sotheby’s, in 2008, Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, lot 942, L’examen Des Lettrés À Hué, Annam (The Scholar Examination at Hué, Annam) – Huế, oil on canvas, 73×86 cm. Sold for 275,000 HKD – equivalent to 825 million VND.
Back to information for the prices of Henry Emile Vollet’s paintings, 2008, at Sotheby’s, in the Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings auction, lot 942, ‘L’examen Des Lettrés À Hué, Annam’ (The Scholar Examination at Hué, Annam), oil on canvas, 73×86cm reached the price of HKD 275,000 – equivalent to VND 825 million, an impressive figure at that time. And in the same auction, works by Lê Phổ and Mai Trung Thứ were also at the same level (except for the particularly excellent ones) such as ‘The sitting lady’, circa 1938-1940, 32×24.5cm were sold for 237,500 HKD equivalent to 712 million VND.
Lê Phổ. The sitting lady. Circa 1938-40. Silk. 32×24.5 cm. Sold for 237,500 HKD at Sotheby’s 2008, equivalent to 712 million VND.
And after 15 years, the position of the names as well as the value of the works has changed dramatically. Lê Phổ’s Romanet period silk paintings continuously increased in price. And the (can be considered) good paintings of Henry Emile Vollet are only marginally better. If you compare the exchange rate fluctuations of the market after 15 years, it will be a setback in price, even if the chart shows the number slightly higher.
For example, in Aguttes’ auction, ‘On the balcony’ equivalent to the artist, period, medium, and dimensions sold for 195,000 EUR, equivalent to 4.9 billion VND. Viet Art View only compares relatively similar aspects, besides, what is shown on the surface of the painting determines the final price.
Certainly, some paintings created by Henry Emile Vollet have sold at high prices to Vietnamese people who love Vietnamese paintings because he painted about Việt Nam. So these paintings would be unlikely to be purchased by a collector in another country. This we have verified by the increasing prices of paintings by Victor Tardieu, Joseph Inguimberty and especially Alix Aymé.
TO BONHAMS, HONGKONG
As for the interesting auction at Bonhams, Modern & Contemporary Art and Southeast Asian Art, there was another position when they presented Nguyễn Phan Chánh’s outstanding and rare work – the silk painting ‘Back to the village’. In addition, with 13 works by artist Trần Lưu Hậu, 9 paintings were sold, this number is impressive. And according to some displays on the websites of some art dealers, some of them have returned to Việt Nam.
Nguyễn Phan Chánh. Retour au village – Back to the village (town). 1955. Signed Ng. Phan-chánh, date 8-1955; signed and date 24-3-1959 on the back. Ink and colour on silk. 85×63 cm (33½×24¾ in). Provenance: Miklós Rév collection, acquired from the artist, 1959 in Việt Nam. Sold for 271,000 USD (included taxes, changed to USD for convenient), equivalent to 6.5 billion VND.
Explaining the auction when there were many paintings by Trần Lưu Hậu and some famous artists of the 90s – the renovation period, we can go back to the 1990s and 2000s and see when Việt Nam opened up, galleries were filled with paintings by the prominent artists of the time. Foreigners began to come to Việt Nam more, the demand for a memory of Việt Nam is a lot. And after two, three decades, those paintings were slowly brought to the block. And the selling price is also somewhat similar in Việt Nam.
Trần Lưu Hậu (1928-2020). Flower still life. 2006. Acrylic on canvas. 78×89 cm. Sold for 230.400 HKD, equivalent to 700 million VND.
Surely there will be art lovers wondering: “So why not buy in Việt Nam, why go abroad to buy expensive, pay a lot of taxes and fees, enrich capital?” Viet Art View would like to share the thoughts of a few art experts, in charge of Asian art – they think that “France (and some European countries) is the place to keep the most art works of Việt Nam – because history has made it… and their paintings have real artistic value in themselves.”
… And an equally important part that makes “proper painting players” lose trust is that some art dealers who have poor knowledge, limited vision, self-conceit, dishonesty… do things that are not good.
ABOUT A FEW OTHER AUCTION HOUSES
During an auction in Germany, the lacquer painting, ‘A girl reading’ by Huỳnh Văn Gấm, created in 1960, reached more than 1.1 billion VND is also one of the interesting notes.
Huỳnh Văn Gấm. A girl reading. 1960. Lacquer. 48.5×32.5 cm. Sold for (equivalent to) 1.1 billion VND.
According to Viet Art View’s own point of view, in terms of historical value, visual value, artistic value, and rarity of ‘A girl reading’ may even have to reach a higher price. Because, if you clearly understand the position of Huỳnh Văn Gấm’s artistic creation throughout the history of Việt Nam Fine Arts from 1945 to the present time, you will have a satisfactory answer yourself.
In the auction of ‘A girl reading’, many people participated in the bidding, but they all gave up because they were not really interested in this painting. Maybe they still like the Indochine quartet, like what is noble, beautiful, romantic with Indochine spirit in it. Therefore, the bidder who get ‘A girl reading’ was very happy because he did not have to pay too much tax and fee to the auction house (up to 33% of the closing value).
And one thing Viet Art View is sure that, if there is the next purchase (in Việt Nam), this painting will have a very high price. But for now, the buyer has decided to keep the painting in his own collection.
A FEW WORDS TO SHARE
The art market is mostly slowing down due to a declining economy, due to the instability of the times. The price of artwork is going right with its own actual value. But beautiful, precious paintings can still be sold at a good price.
There are many more artists who are passionate about creating art are still struggling with money. What will the future be like, how, why the market does not have much faith in contemporary collections with real value, not much discussion about original and fake paintings, but still have to always rely on the value of the works by artists of the past generations have been established over the years.
This, Viet Art View will continue to write in the following articles…
Written by Viet Art View
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