Paul Jean Marie DUCUING (1867/68-1949) Lot n° 24

Portrait de l’empereur d’Annam S.M. Khải Định, circa 1922 Bronze with gold patina, signed in the right sleeve, stamped F. Barbedienne Fondeur Paris on the base 33 x 22 x 12 cm - 13 x 8 5/8 x 4 3/4 in. The model offered for sale today, a small cast by the renowned foundryman Barbedienne in Paris, comes from the personal collection of Khải Ðịnh’s son, Bảo Ðại, the last emperor of Vietnam.Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy, from his birth name, an only son born in 1913, inherited it shortly after his creation in 1922 as his father died in 1925. This model was entrusted to us by one of his grandchildren, great-grandchild of Khải Ðịnh. The reign of Vietnamese emperors continued throughout the French protectorate which started in 1885. The reign of the second to last emperor of Annam, Khải Định (1885-1925) was architecturally marked by the construction in 1920 of his tomb, which was to be the last mausoleum of the Nguyen dynasty. A skillful blend of Annamite and Western know-how, this monument is an architectural feat built in a deliberately ostentatious style. Mixing symbols from the French iconographic repertoire with Indian references, this construction is very much alike Khải Định : luxurious. Using both Eastern and Western materials, the emperor wanted a life-size sculpture for his mausoleum. The commission fell to Paul Ducuing (1867-1949), a sculptor from Toulouse known for his photographic realism. The brilliant academic sculptor carried out numerous public commissions and taught at the Manufacture de Sèvres. His friendship with Albert Sarraut, Governor of Indochina and Minister of the Colonies, enabled him to be commissioned and to obtain several public orders between December 1921 and February 1922. For this purpose, Ducuing, conscientious, studied the various stylistic currents and the different symbols of Far Eastern art. For the realization of the sculpture of Khải Định, the artist adopts a narrative faithful to objective reality. In order to master the best his subject, the sculptor began with a representation of a simple bust, in a smaller scale, which he exhibited in May 1922 at the Exposition Coloniale in Marseille. This model received the approval of the Emperor Khải Định who commissioned in addition to the version intended for the mausoleum, which was to be full-length and larger, several copies of the original bust intended for members of his family Adopting the codes of Western sculpture, Ducuing chose for this commission a bust format adapted to the representation of emperors since Roman antiquity. The symbolic language, however, borrows more from Annamite culture. The outfit - a tunic and a sober but elegant traditional turban - underlines the humility that a person of the rank of Khải Định must show. His social status is underlined by the various attributes he wears, including the Grand Cross of the Dragon of Annam, formed by an eight-pointed star surmounted by a dragon, an Annamite and then colonial order. Paul Ducuing paints a realistic portrait of a majestic and humble sovereign at the height of his power. When Bảo Đại was to succeed his father, his young age did not allow him to rule and he used a period of Regency to pursue his education in France. His enthronement name Bảo Đại means “he who protects from greatness” and shows a desire for reform from the very beginning of his reign. The Second World War, as well as the government formed by Hồ Chí Minh carried by the rumbling nationalist movement, would sound the death knell for the Empire. The last Emperor, concerned about his country, said in his memoirs: “They want a revolution, I will make it but without shedding blood, by a political evolution. If one takes into account the history of the peoples, there is only one solution: my departure.” Bảo Đại retained an honorary title but the various political elements forced him to eventually find exile in France where he remained until the end of his life.