Painter Tôn Thất Đào, originally from Phú Cát, Huế, is a descendant of the Nguyễn Dynasty royal family, a descendant of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu, the grandson of the great mandarin Tôn Thất Loan – Minister of War, Hữu Tôn khanh Tôn Nhơn phủ of the Nguyễn Dynasty. He graduated from Indochina Fine Arts College, class 8 (1932-1937) with Lương Xuân Nhị, Nguyễn Văn Khánh, Đỗ Đình Hiệp, Nguyễn Văn Thâu, Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Lê Yên and Nguyễn Thị Nhung.
In 1937, when Tôn Thất Đào graduated, it was also the year that the respected teacher of generations of Vietnamese artists – Principal Victor Tardieu (1870-1937) passed away. In 1939, painter Tôn Thất Đào was appointed to teach at two schools, Khải Định and Đồng Khánh. In 1941, under the reign of King Bảo Đại, he was also nominated to the palace to teach painting to Crown Prince Bảo Long. Tôn Thất Đào taught painting at Khải Định High School, Đồng Khánh High School, Quốc Học High School, Technical High School, Tín Đức High School, Huế Model High School, and was awarded the Long Bội Tinh by King Bảo Đại (1942). In 1957, he founded and became the first Director of the College of Fine Arts under Huế University, and was also the Director of the Huế Small Industry Promotion Center and a painting professor at Huế Supplementary Education School.
As a son of Huế, his works revolve around the landscape, people, nature, architecture, and traditional cultural customs of Huế. In particular, he was the one who directly painted the portraits of Queen Nam Phương (around the early 1940s) and Crown Prince Bảo Long (in 1942). Perhaps his name “court painter” came from his family background and the honor of painting portraits for the Huế royal family.
In 2014, in an article by author Thái Lộc about Tôn Thất Đào published in Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, there was a passage: “Most notably, the four silk paintings by Tôn Thất Đào include: Hương River – Ngự Mountain (tentatively named), Portrait of an old man (1946), Spring garden (April 1955), Countryside landscape (1965) hung on the wall of the house.” The painting “Portrait of an old man” was created 9 years after Tôn Thất Đào graduated, when he returned to Huế and painted for the Huế royal family. At that time, his paintings had got certain achievements.
The painting has a cool, gentle blue color scheme, depicting an old man with long white hair and beard in a traditional clothes of a the shirt and long pants (possibly made of silk). On the chest of the shirt, there seems to be a small brocade bag with a lid, embroidered with a stylized Thọ character. The most special feature is the long fingernails. In the old feudal period, the noble, high-ranking people did not have to do hard work like mandarins, scholars, and doctors often kept their fingernails long. This shows that the old man in this painting is a man of high class and wealth. The highlight of the work comes from his demeanor. With a relaxed posture – showing good health, a slight smile on his lips – he seems to be in a leisurely conversation. This further highlights the wise, long-lived, and healthy temperament of a noble elder.
TÔN THẤT ĐÀO (1910-1979)
“Portrait of an old man”, 1946
Ink and colour on silk
Signed and sealed in the upper right corner, dated in the lower left corner
45 × 36,5 cm
