Lê Phổ (French/Vietnamese, 1907-2001) - La Lumière d'Été

Signed ‘Lepho’ bottom right, and in Chinese characters above, oil on canvas.
Executed in 1975.
44 ½ x 57 in. (113 x 144.8cm)

Note: This lot is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from The Findlay Institute, FG#59783, dated April 5, 2024.

Provenance

The Artist.
Findlay Galleries, New York, New York (acquired directly from the above in 1975). 
Private Collection, New York, New York (acquired directly from the above in February 1976).

Lot Essay

The two paintings by Lê Phổ on offer here, La Lumière d'Été and Le Quartz Rose provide excellent examples of the artist’s mature style. La Lumière d'Été, or Summer Light, seems to glow from within, the pale yellows of the flowers and the sun-dappled ground surrounding the figures in an all-encompassing summer sun. The figures themselves, embraced by the branches on either side, turn their focus downward, creating a centered calm within the bright energy of summer. Le Quartz Rose shows the artist’s incredibly fine attention to detail, with flowers and branches radiating out in all directions from the central vase, bursts of color punctuating the pale yellow background.

Lê Phổ was a prominent Vietnamese-French painter born in Nam Dinh, Vietnam in 1907. He began his artistic pursuits at the École des Beaux-Arts d'Indochine in Hanoi, where he was exposed to both French academic techniques and the rich heritage of Vietnamese art. He later moved to Paris where he drew inspiration from the work of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters in museums there. Working well into his 90s, Lê Phổ created an oeuvre that became widely recognized and sought after, bridging Eastern and Western artistic traditions, and creating works that resonate with a universal language of beauty.