Thang Trần Phềnh, also known as Trần Văn Bình, an another name is Đạt Siêu. His biological father is half-Chinese and his mother is Vietnamese. He studied in class II (1926-1931) of Indochina Fine Arts College with Tô Ngọc Vân, Vũ Cao Đàm…
Portrait of artist Thang Trần Phềnh
When mentioning artist Thang Trần Phềnh, art lovers will immediately remember the work “Phạm Ngũ Lão”, 1923, 71.5 × 94.7 cm, currently in the collection of Việt Nam Fine Arts Museum. The painting depicts a famous story in Vietnamese history: “Hưng Đạo Đại Vương had military business passing through the land of Phù Ủng. Phạm Ngũ Lão was sitting on the path, weaving baskets, immersed in thought, not realizing that the military officer was coming, a soldier who cleared the road shouted at the young man, but he was still deep in thought, then the soldier used a spear to pierce the thigh of the young man who blocking the way. Blood flowed profusely. The soldier could not pull out the spear. Hưng Đạo Đại Vương was surprised, he asked what was going on. Through the young man farmer fluent response, Hưng Đạo Đại Vương discovered that this would be a great general for the court. And later it was true.” (According to the website of Phạm Ngũ Lão Primary School).
The painting “Phạm Ngũ Lão” of artist Thang Trần Phềnh
Source: The website of Việt Nam Fine Arts Museum
“Phạm Ngũ Lão” was created by Thang Trần Phềnh in 1923, two years before the Indochina Fine Arts College was established. Thus, it could be seen that Thang Trần Phềnh was a talented artist who was recognized early on. He specialized in making stage decorations and designing costumes for theaters since the 1910s. He was considered the pioneer of theater art design industry in Việt Nam.
Artist Thang Trần Phềnh (the third from the left) with a French theater troupe in front of
the Opere House in Hà Nội, around 1918-1920
On October 14, 2022, at the Vietnamese Art auction of Lynda Trouvé, successfully auctioned two rare silk paintings by Thang Trần Phềnh (originally known as Trần Bình) with a total value of 1,150,000 EUR (including fees) equivalent to 30 billion VND. The price caused an excitement because a few days before the auction, the auction house still did not know that these were two rare works by artist Thang Trần Phềnh.
On May 22, 2024, Aguttes will auction two very rare silk paintings by Thang Trần Phềnh. Descriptions are as follows:
Thang Trần Phềnh, “The village chief reading for the villagers”
Ink and colour on silk, signed Trần Bình and noted upper right
75 × 51,5 cm
Thang Trần Phềnh, “The village chief on horse back asking for direction”
Ink and colour on silk, signed Trần Bình and described lower right
75 × 51,5 cm
The two paintings of artist Thang Trần Phềnh in the upcoming May 22 auction at Aguttes
In the book “Thang Trần Phềnh – Memoirs and works” (collected and compiled by Quang Tuyến), pages 26-27 have the passage: “While studying, painted many silk paintings sent abroad by the school, which were sold out: 1. The fortune teller. 2. Fortune telling. 3. Playing cards. 4. The love of mother and child. 5. The village entrance. 6. The chief asked for directions…”
Thus, the painting “The village chief on horse back asking for direction” (according to Aguttes) is the work “The chief asked for directions” that Thang Trần Phềnh wrote in his memoirs.
In the documents kept by the family of artist Nguyễn Văn Tỵ, there is a manuscript with the title: “Lacquer and silk painting – Two lines of traditional Vietnamese art”. The manuscript includes two parts, one about lacquer, one about silk. In the part about silk, it is written: “If we only look at the paintings on the subject alone, we cannot fully see the artistic value of the first silk works of the modern period before the August Revolution: “Meal”, “The girl washing the dishes”, “The street singers”, “The young woman sewing” (1929-1931), “Going to the field”, “Wash vegetables by the pond”, “The child feeding the birds”, “Washing rice”, “Playing ô ăn quan” (1932) by Nguyễn Phan Chánh; “Come home from the market” (1927), “Woman with a white scarf” (1930), “Spring sightseeing”, “Father advises son”, “Buying and selling rice on the bank of the Hồng River” (1931-1933) by Nguyễn Nam Sơn; “Get off the horse”, “Ask for directions”, “Playing cards”, “Fortune telling” (Thang Trần Phềnh); “The Letter” (Tô Ngọc Vân) are the first silk works introduced abroad. In addition to the national title of the subjects that evoked the viewer’s curiosity, these first silk paintings were meticulously researched by the artists and created according to classical methods of representation and composition. Silk paintings were painted mainly in terms of customs but are deeply researched in terms of artistic expression in shape and color…”
According to Aguttes, the two paintings “The village chief reading books to the villagers” and “The village chief asking for directions on horseback” have provenance as follows: “In the early 1890s, Mr X’s family had lived in Indochina. Perhaps it was during a visit to an exhibition organized by the College of Fine Arts in 1929, or at one of the fairs attended by students of artist Thang Trần Phềnh that in the 1930s, the family bought two paintings by the artist mounted in frames crafted by artist Gadin. Through many transfers, the two paintings are still passed down to the next generation and preserved in the family until today.”
According to the above information, it could be seen that Thang Trần Phềnh’s works were mentioned by the artist himself and artist Nguyễn Văn Tỵ. These are valuable documents in the process of researching rare works that were created nearly a hundred years ago.
Compared to other famous artists, there are not many paintings left by Thang Trần Phềnh. Therefore, it could be said that these are two very rare silk works of his. Aguttes’s research expert, Ms Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier appreciated presenting these two works in their upcoming auction. With an estimated price of 50 to 80 thousand euros per painting being a comfortable price, there could be further progress in terms of increase.
We look forward to the results of Aguttes’ auction on May 22, 2024.
Written by Viet Art View
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