Pham Hau (1903-1995) School of Fine Arts of... Lot 335

Pham Hau (1903-1995) School of Fine Arts of Indochina. Class of 1934. 335 Pham Hau (1903-1995) School of Fine Arts of Indochina. Class of 1934. The nine carps. Screen made of four polychrome and gold panels, in engraved and lacquered wood. Signed lower right with the artist's stamp (Latin characters and Chinese ideograms). 1938. Dimensions per panel: 150.5x50 cm. Total dimensions: 150.5x200 cm. (Rare small chips and rubbing). Born in Ha Dong province, Pham Hau studied at the Indochina School of Fine Arts in 1929 and graduated in 1934. An artist of early maturity, he became an essential master lacquerer, quickly courted by all the great families of Hanoi or by the colonial administrators. His very meticulous work, his subtle chromatic palette and his personal themes have made Pham Hau one of the greatest artists of Vietnam. His style is a permanent bridge between the ancestral tradition of lacquer art and the pictorial modernity of the 20th century. Bibliographoe: reproduced in the magazine "Indochine, hebdomadaire illustré" No. 22 of Thursday, February 6, 1941, in an article devoted to the "Lacquer Masters of Hanoi". Another known version of this lacquer - but in a less elongated format and with less decoration - was presented by Sotheby's HK in March 2019. The number 9 and the carp have a special resonance in Vietnamese culture: the number 9 brings luck and the carp is considered a source of success, abundance and great happiness. Provenance : Bought around 1941 by Mr Ivan Brandela (1888-1959), son of Numa Brandela (1850-1907), under director of the Lyon Indochina company in Haïphong, then director of the Indochina bank in Saigon at the end of the 20s. After the War, this screen was brought back to France and then remained in the same family.