This auction, “Indochina, Myth and Reality 1800-1960”, orchestrated by Lynda Trouvé at Drouot, achieved excellent results. A painting by Victor Tardieu (1870-1937) for the University of Hanoi’s lecture theater, “La Métropole : la science dispense au peuple d’Annam ses bienfaits”, c. 1924-1925, fetched €355,600, a world record (source: Artnet). Total proceeds were €1 M. The Pasifika museum in Bali seized the opportunity to acquire a work by Tardieu, who co-founded the Hanoi School of Fine Arts with Nguyen Nam Son. A fire having ravaged the painter’s collection of works, few are in private hands, making them particularly sought-after. This one has an additional appeal: it is a study for the famous fresco Tardieu was commissioned to do shortly after arriving in Vietnam.
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