VŨ CAO ĐÀM (1908-2000)

Divinité, 1981 Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, titled on the back 73,5 x 60 cm - 28 15/16 x 23 5/8 in. Vũ Cao Đàm was born in Hanoi in 1908 to a French-speaking, Francophile father. He grew up in an erudite environment, and attended the Hanoi Fine Arts School founded in 1925 by the French painter Victor Tardieu. He assisted Tardieu at the 1931 International Exhibition in Paris and discovered the world of Parisian art. He was highly influenced by the charms and culture of the City of Light. His subsequent travels through France led him to live there. At first keenly drawn to sculpture, which he practiced tirelessly, Vũ Cao Đàm finally began to express his immense talent in painting on silk. In both fields, he mainly focused on the human figure, which he glorified in portraits and charming genre scenes. In a subtle combination of Asian and European pictorial traditions, the artist’s delicate faces and graceful silhouettes have a refined elegance that makes his style instantly recognizable.