Sotheby’s auction featured works by leading modern and contemporary artists from Europe and Asia. Three paintings by the two Vietnamese artists drew particular attention, with final prices far above estimates, showing strong competition among collectors and reaffirming the position and potential of Indochinese art in the international market.

The standout lot was La jeune femme de Hué (Young woman of Hue) by Mai Trung Thu. The work carried an estimate of HK$3-4 million (about VND10-13.4 billion) and sold for HK$7.04 million (more than VND23.6 billion), nearly double the estimate.

Painted in 1937 while the artist was teaching in Hue, the work depicts a scene along the Huong River near Thien Mu Pagoda, conveying a quiet, romantic atmosphere. A young woman in a white Ao Dai (traditional long dress) and conical hat shields her face from the sun.

A delicate gold necklace and her composed posture reflect the refined standards of feminine beauty in Hue at the time. Sotheby’s data indicates the work is particularly rare as one of the few oil paintings by Mai Trung Thu still available on the market.

Another work by the artist, Le petit cours d'eau, la baignade (Bathing by a small stream), sold for HK$5.76 million (over VND19.3 billion). Completed in 1978, the painting belongs to the later stage of his career.

“With a confident manner of painting, Mai Trung Thu explores one of his most sought-after themes-the female nude and everyday life,” Sotheby’s noted. “While most of his works focus on compositions with one or two figures, Le petit cours d'eau, la baignade depicts as many as 14 female figures, making it one of his most complex group compositions.”

The imagery evokes a poetic world reminiscent of The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen Du, where young women by the water symbolize beauty, youth and the fleeting nature of time.

Another notable work was The Three Bathers by Le Pho, which sold for HK$5.12 million (more than VND17.2 billion). Created around 1938, the silk painting highlights the artist’s refined technique. Sotheby’s data shows that nude subjects are extremely rare in his works, especially in early silk paintings, as he later focused mainly on oil.

The work draws on Western artistic themes of the nude and bathing figures, while portraying young women bathing by a river in a peaceful rural setting, creating a distinctly Vietnamese, poetic scene.

Three Vietnamese paintings fetch over EUR 1 million each at French auction

VOV.VN - Major works by renowned artists Mai Trung Thu and Le Pho captured strong interest at a special auction held recently by Aguttes, a French auction house, in France to mark the 100th anniversary of the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine (Indochina College of Fine Arts).