In the early 1890s, the X. family settled in the Hanoi region of Indochina. It was probably during one of the exhibitions organized by the School of Fine Arts from 1929 onwards, or at one of the fairs in which its students were then actively participating, that they acquired these two paintings by Thang Trân Phềnh framed by Gadin in the 1930s. Preserved by the family as they moved, they have been passed down to the present day.

Thang Trân Phềnh (1895-1973), also known as Trần Văn Bình (and sometimes nicknamed Đạt Siêu) was a Vietnamese artist. From a father of Chinese origin and a Vietnamese mother, he received a traditional education, respecting the principles of Confucianism.

Encouraged by his parents, he became self-taught and, in 1923, won first prize in the fine arts exhibition of the Vietnamese Association of the Lights of Tiến Đức.

In 1925, he failed by the skin of his teeth in the first competitive entrance examination to the Indochina School of Fine Arts. Second on the waiting list, he was authorized to attend certain courses as an auditor. The following year, at the age of 31, he joined the ranks of the second class. At the instigation of Victor Tardieu, the school's director, he exhibited with some of his fellow students in 1929 at the Salon de l'Art Colonial organized by the Salon des Artistes Français at the Grand Palais in Paris.

In 1931, he exhibited a work entitled La partie de cartes at the Colonial Exhibition in Paris. The following year, his work appeared in three successive exhibitions organized by Agindo (Agence économique de l'Indochine) in Paris. It was also in 1932 that he graduated from his School in Hanoi, at the same time as artists Vũ Cao Đàm and Tô Ngọc Vân (the first Vietnamese director appointed to head the Indochina School of Fine Arts, following Victor Tardieu and then Evariste Jonchère).

Thang Trân Phềnh then turned to theater, founding the Đồng Ấu company and directing his efforts towards enhancing stage sets, costumes and props. In theater as in painting, Thang Trân Phềnh is involved in transmitting the memory of his country, its history and culture. His rare work, whose main subject is traditional rural scenes in Vietnam, is considered a true testimony to the past.

Thang Trần Phềnh (1895-1973)
The village chief reading in front of villagers
Ink and color on silk, signed Tran Binh and annotated upper right with a quotation evoking principles of manners
75 x 51,5 cm - 29 1/2 x 51 1/2 in.

Provenance:
Collection of a family who lived in Indochina from the early 1890s to the early 1960s and were present in the Hanoi area at the time this work was produced.

Thang Trần Phềnh (1895-1973)
The village chief on horseback asking for directions
Ink and color on silk, signed Tran Binh and described lower right
75 x 51,5 cm - 29 1/2 x 51 1/2 in.

Provenance
Collection of a family who lived in Indochina from the early 1890s to the early 1960s, and who were present in the Hanoi area at the time this work was produced.

Sources :
Fonds Victor Tardieu, INHA, espace Jacques-Doucet, archives 125/5-9.
Triển lãm Thang Trần Phềnh: Bắt gặp quá khứ trong hiện tại, Bằng Lăng, Thể thao & Văn hóa, 29 août 2022
Cố họa sĩ Thang Trần Phềnh: Tài hoa và độc đáo, Nguyệt Hà, Công An Nhân Dân, 1er septembre 2022

Upcoming Asian painters: China, Vietnam auction
Wednesday 22 May 2024

For any further information or to include a lot in our upcoming auctions, please contact
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+33 1 41 92 06 49 - reynier@aguttes.com