$63,000
Estimate: $50,000 - $80,000
Auction: May 17, 2023 12:00 PM EDT
Signed and dated 63 bottom right, signed again in Chinese and English and dated again verso, oil on canvas.
23 1/2 x 19 1/4 in. (59.7 x 48.9cm)Provenance
The Artist.
Wally Findlay Galleries, New York.
Private Collection, Ohio (acquired directly from the above).
Private Collection, Philadelphia (acquired directly from the above).
Note
This lot is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from The Findlay Institute, dated March 23, 2023.
Vietnamese artist Vũ Cao Đàm was born in Hanoi in 1908, enrolling at the École des Beaux Arts there at age 18. In 1931, the artist won a travel scholarship to France, studying in Paris and subsequently living there until 1949 before he permanently settled in the south of France. Enchanted by the light, color and climate of the Mediterranean region, Vũ Cao Đàm’s paintings of figures and landscapes reflect the light, airy nature of his surroundings and his careful study of European Masters.
While the artist lived away from Vietnam for most of his life, his work reveals the influence of both Asian and European traditions. One of his favorite subjects, mother and child, is lovingly portrayed in the present lot, Sérénité, incorporating figures inspired by women in his native Vietnam, while also integrating the importance of such groupings in the European Christian tradition. The background is almost entirely abstract, nearly melding with the mother’s long, flowing robe to evoke a sweet, serene moment between mother and child.