38 - Ⓗ PHAM HAU (1903–1994)

Ⓗ PHAM HAU (1903–1994) "Landscape of the Northern Central Region of Vietnam," 1936 Folding screen consisting of six panels, lacquer on wood panels Signed and stamped lower right 105 × 198 cm The work is accompanied by a certificate issued by the artist’s family. PHẠM HẬU (1903–1994) “Phong cảnh trung du Bắc bộ,” 1936 Six-panel folding screen, lacquer on wood panels Signed and stamped in the lower right corner 105 × 198 cm The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the artist’s family According to the book *Sơn mài Phạm Hậu* (The Lacquers of Phạm Hậu), published in 2019 by Éditions des Beaux-Arts and written by architect Phạm Gia Yên, the artist’s son, this work was created in 1936. This dating lends it particular historical significance. At that time, the introduction of the sanding technique into experiments with traditional lacquer was still relatively recent. The new artistic possibilities offered by this material were still being explored and refined. It was not until 1938 that the lacquer section of the Indochinese School of Fine Arts was established, marking a decisive step in the recognition of lacquer as a full-fledged artistic discipline within fine arts education. In this context, the creation, as early as 1936, of a work displaying such a high degree of mastery of the material, technique, composition, and artistic language appears all the more exceptional. This screen not only belongs to the early years of modern Vietnamese lacquer painting but also attests to the remarkable artistic maturity that Phạm Hậu had already attained during this formative period. The aesthetic and historical significance of this mastery can now be better appreciated thanks to documents and reference works that have gradually been made available to researchers and art historians. In 1934, Phạm Hậu graduated from the Indochina School of Fine Arts with a lacquer work consisting of six assembled panels, titled Landscape of an Ancient Pagoda in Northern Vietnam (30.5 × 104 cm). A comparison of this work with *Landscape of the Central Region of Northern Vietnam* reveals numerous similarities in the depiction of architecture, vegetation, and topography. Both appear to revolve around the same landscape motif: an architectural complex set against the low hills characteristic of the Central Highlands of Northern Vietnam, although the viewpoints and spatial compositions differ. While *Landscape of an Ancient Pagoda in Northern Vietnam* favors a frontal composition, offering a relatively comprehensive view of the architectural ensemble and its surroundings, *Landscape of the Central Highlands of Northern Vietnam* invites the viewer to gradually enter a space structured by a succession of planes. The architecture does not immediately reveal itself as a homogeneous whole. It is gradually unveiled through trees, gateways, walls, stone steps, and partially concealed spaces. The similarities observed in the topography, the arrangement of architectural elements, and the vegetation suggest that these two compositions may have been inspired by the same geographical environment or, at the very least, by the same type of landscape viewed through a shared artistic vision. In traditional Vietnamese architecture, complexes consisting of communal houses, temples, and pagodas maintain a close relationship with their natural surroundings. These structures rarely stand alone; they are generally part of a spatial arrangement in which architecture and landscape form an inseparable whole. In *Landscape of the Northern Central Region of Vietnam*, Phạm Hậu demonstrates a particularly subtle understanding of this relationship. The viewer cannot take in the entire landscape at a single glance. The eye is invited to move successively through the different planes of the composition, gradually discovering new elements as it visually penetrates the space. Every detail, however discreet, contributes to a rigorous and coherent organization of the whole, revealing the artist’s mastery in combining depth, visual rhythm, and compositional harmony. On the left side of the composition, an imposing gate with tall pillars appears behind several layers of vegetation. Although it is not centered and its contours—though clearly defined—are partially obscured by the trees, it suggests