Vũ Cao Đàm (1908-2000), “Mother and child”, around 1942-1944
Ink and colour on silk, signed lower right, titled and numbered on the back of the painting
Dimensions: 54,8 × 45,2 cm
Exhibitions: In 1944, Algeria, Algiers-Oran, Art gallery Pasteur, Romanet;
The exhibition of Mai Trung Thứ, Lê Phổ and Vũ Cao Đàm, Painting of Indochina, number 93
Provenance: Private collection, Algeria (Purchased in the early 1940s in Algiers)
Private collection, Germany (Inherited from previous owner)
Vu Cao Dam was born in 1908 in Hanoi, his father was fluent in French and passionate about French culture. Raised in a family rich in cultural tradition, he studied at the Indochina Fine Arts College, founded by French painter Victor Tardieu in 1925. He accompanied Tardieu to attend the 1931 Paris International Exhibition and had the opportunity to explore the art world here. Deeply influenced by the beauty and culture of the City of Light, he traveled throughout France, before deciding to settle in the late 1930s.
Vu Cao Dam initially showed a special interest in sculpture, a field he devoted a lot of effort to for years, and eventually revealed his great talent through silk painting. In both of these fields, the artist mainly focus on honoring human images through portraits or paintings with scenes. Skillfully combining Asian and European painting traditions, the delicate faces and graceful figures of the models in Vu Cao Dam’s paintings make his drawings very recognizable. The choice of creative materials accompanied the changes in his life, sculpture and silk painting were associated with the years he lived in Indochina and Paris before the war, while oil painting was preferred in his work when he lived in the South of France. The themes of the oil paintings revolve around characters that often appear in his works.
As a remarkable testament to Vu Cao Dam’s career during his first years living in France, the work shows the tenderness of a mother holding her child in her arms. During this period, the artist mainly honored the beauty of women and motherhood. The painting was displayed in Algiers with the help of gallery owner André Romanet in 1944. Here, Vu Cao Dam described the character’s posture in a delicate, elegant and gentle way. The background color highlights the central position of the character, making the picture vivid.
ASIAN PAINTERS
CHINA, VIETNAM
The 43rd auction: May 22, 2024
Contact: reynier@aguttes.com
Source: Aguttes
