While SE Asia may not be known for fine oil paintings the way Europe is, Vietnam boasts a few exceptional artists in this discipline. One of these is the 20th century painter, Lê Phổ, whose artistic prowess was on display last week at a Christie’s where one of his pieces was sold for $840,000, a record for a Vietnamese artist at the prestigious auction house.
According to Jean-Francois Hubert, senior consultant for Vietnamese art at Christie’s, the painting, “View From the Hilltop,” was put up for auction by Frenchman Patrick Lorenzi, the great grandson of a colonial governor of Tonkin, who purchased the painting directly from the artist.
Lê Phổ studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and returned to Vietnam to teach at the École Supérieure des Beaux Arts de l'Indochine in Hanoi.
Though he returned to Paris for good in 1937, much of his work was based on themes from his homeland, its landscapes and its people.
Here are a few more pieces of Phổ's art:
