U VAN AN (born 1911). Indochina School of Fine... Lot 1

U VAN AN (born 1911). Indochina School of Fine Arts. The stopover of the merchant with a cart. Painting on framed silk signed lower right with the artist's name and stamp, located and dated Hanoi 1936. Dimensions: 40x47 cm. (Wear). U Van An was one of the first artists in the South to graduate from the Indochina School of Fine Arts. Praised for his drawing skills and excellent painting technique, he returned to Saigon after his studies and was invited to teach at the Binh Duong craft school. He eventually declined the offer, preferring to devote himself to traveling. During his travels, he covered much of North Vietnam and made several trips to Cambodia. From his travels, U Van An brought back many sketches, which he presented at a major exhibition at Saigon's Hotel Continental in 1942. While we know some of the artist's poncifs and lacquers (four of which are currently on display at the Ho Chi Minh Museum of Fine Arts), his silk paintings are much rarer. The work we present is all the more exceptional in that it was produced in the early years of his career, in 1936, when he was still a student in Hanoi. Already, the themes that would make him so distinctive are emerging: the simplicity of scenes from daily life, the landscapes of North Vietnam, possibly here depicting one of the many relays still to be found around the Mai Chau Valley.