V? Cao ?àm (1908-2000) Lot n° 246

Les chrysanthèmes, circa 1941 Gouache and ink on silk, signed lower right 46 x 34 cm - 18 1/8 x 13 3/8 in. Chrysanthemums are commonly used in Asia to represent happiness. A favourite of the Japanese, they represent the emperor, while in China they evoke nobility and perseverance. Red, yellow, pink or white, their brilliant colours have earned them the name « essence of the sun » in Chinese. Through a poetic and elegant composition, Vũ Cao Đàm offers his personal vision of chrysanthemums This work was created in the early part of her career, a period when silk was still a favourite medium for the artist. A student at the Indochina School of Fine Arts, Vũ Cao Đàm has mastered the various media. The use of ink and colours on silk found favour in his eyes and was widely used until it was abandoned in the 1950s. These materials allowed him to treat his subjects in a softer and more subtle way. The palette, in particular, is more subdued and belongs to a pastel colour range. Yellow, white and pink delicately contrast with the green of the stems. The background, briefly sketched out in black, highlights the flowers. With a confident and controlled gesture, Vũ Cao Đàm treats the line in a refined manner. Signed in Latin letters but also in Chinese ideograms, the artist captures the double influence, Western and Far Eastern, that characterises his work.