Million dollar paintings by Le Pho

Canard and Lotus(The Mandarin Ducks and the Lotus) by Le Pho reached about 1.28 million USD (1.2 million euros), the highest price of the auction.Magnificence and Regality(Splendor and royalty),took place on November 7 at Sotheby'sParis. Previously, the painting was estimated at 350,000-500,000 euros.

The work belongs to the collection of Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Loc (1914-1990), the fifth-generation grandson of King Minh Mang (1791-1841) - the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty.

This is one of the artist's first silk paintings, painted in the late 1930s, measuring 64x96 cm. Using ink and gouache, he depicts a pair of mandarin ducks, appearing among lotus flowers - a symbol of Buddhism.

Other paintings by Le Pho at the auction all had prices far exceeding expectations.Women in Voile(Girl in a Shawl) hammered for $435,000 (€406,400), paintingThe Coqs Bataille(Family Tea Time) sold for $298,000 (€279,400),Mother and child with iris(Mother and Iris) grossed $217,000 (€203,200).

OutsideMandarin Ducks Play, Le Pho has many million dollar paintings before. In the picture is the paintingFamily Life(Family Life), was hammered for $1.1 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in April 2017. The artist painted the painting between 1937-1939, using ink and pigment mixed with glue on canvas, measuring 82x66 cm.

Experts sayFamily Lifeis a rare, exquisite silk painting in Le Pho's career. The painting depicts an intimate moment on a leisurely day, focusing on the image of a mother and her child.

Their figures form a harmonious oval, representing the reciprocal nature of maternal love. The colors used by Le Pho in the work express a peaceful quality, depicting life and people in Vietnam, in which family happiness is the foundation.

Le Pho (1907-2001) - one of the four great masters of Vietnamese painting, along with Mai Trung Thu, Le Thi Luu, and Vu Cao Dam. He is known as "the famous Vietnamese painter in France".

Jeune femme attachant lipstick foulard(Girl in a Scarf) sold for $1.11 million at Christie's Hong Kong auction in May 2021.

The painting represents Le Pho's great inspiration - a young woman with a scarf. He painted it in 1938, when he was at the peak of his career. The painting shows modern silk painting techniques, different from traditional silk paintings in the country and East Asia, depicting the elegance of women.

WorkGirl with peony$1.36 million at Aguttes' sale in October 2020. Ink and color on silk, painted around 1945. According to Aguttes, the artist skillfully combined Western art and traditional Vietnamese elements in the painting.

The and Sympathyhad a final price of $1.36 million in the session.Modern Evening Auctionby Sotheby's, October 2022.

Oil on canvas, 131x195 cm, depicts a tea party scene in a garden, with sunlight filtering through the foliage, illuminating the figures. The auction house presents the painting, created during the Findlay period, demonstrating Le Pho's ability to create complex compositions with 11 figures, combining the most famous themes of his career - flowers, young women and still life.

According to the opinion ofSotheby'sAt the time, the work was one of the artist's largest oil on canvas paintings ever to appear on the market. "The large size, the meticulously detailed details, the setting and the composition give the painting depth, it is truly a rare masterpiece in Le Pho's extensive artistic career," the auction house wrote.

In the auction20th Century & Contemporary Artbelong toChristie'sHong Kong May 2019, paintingNude(Nude) by the famous artist was hammered for 1.4 million USD.

The painting is 90.5 x 180.5 cm in size, using oil paint.Christie'sThe work analyzes the viewer's attention to the artist's skillful technique. Nude painting was once taboo in Confucian thinking in ancient Vietnam, but Le Pho broke the traditional rules, creating a new foundation.

PictureFigures in a garden(Figure in the garden)sold for $2.28 million at auctionModern Evening Auctionby Sotheby's in April 2022, the second highest in the history of Vietnamese paintings at that time.

The work consists of three oil paintings on canvas, depicting six life-sized figures, each performing a different activity, but with the common point of blending in with the trees and flowers in the garden. According toSotheby's, the painting was created during the Findlay period (golden period) of the artist, when he often used many bright, vivid tones and oil paint on large canvas in his compositions.

Researcher Ngo Kim Khoi commented that the highlight of the work is its large size and the symbolic yellow color in the artist's paintings, although the romanticism has not reached a high point compared to his other paintings.

Family in the garden(Family in the Garden), ink and gouache on silk, 91.3 x 61.5 cm. The painting fetched $2.37 million in the auction.50th Anniversary Contemporary Evening Auction, celebrating 50 years in the Asian marketSotheby'sin April. This is the second large-sized silk painting by Le Pho to appear on the market.

The auction house said the painting is like a photographic work, demonstrating Le Pho's technique and imagination. He depicted a woman in a white ao dai sitting and sewing, next to a child reading a book, behind are a number of people doing different actions, depicting a leisurely scene. The famous artist paid attention to every detail such as plants, animals, and bamboo baskets containing fish. The multi-layered, long-lasting composition gives the painting depth.