237 - VU CAO DAM (1908–2000)

VU CAO DAM (1908–2000) “Young Woman Combing Her Hair,” c. 1940 Ink and colors on silk mounted on “Riz Indochine” cardboard Signed lower left Framed by E. Bouche. 27.5 x 22 cm Provenance: Former private collection in the Ardèche. This work dates from the artist’s 1940s period. Here, Vu Cao Dam (1908–2000) chose to depict a subject familiar to him: a portrait of a young woman with gentle features, rendered in an uncluttered style that highlights the beauty of the line as well as the ethereal quality afforded by his medium—painting on silk—which Vu Cao Dam mastered brilliantly. This intimate subject of a woman styling her hair was explored on several occasions by the artist; see, in particular, the work “Girl in Red Dress,” with a very similar composition, sold at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on October 5, 2019 (lot no. 267), as well as the work “Girl in the Blue Dress,” an oil on panel sold by the same auction house on March 31, 2019 (lot no. 267). One of the distinctive features of this painting—which, incidentally, helps narrow its date to the 1940s—is the presence on the back of a cardboard backing onto which the work was mounted. Indeed, the work on silk is mounted on a piece of cardboard bearing an advertising message on the reverse: “Indochina Rice—On sale here.” According to information provided by the artist’s son, while living in France during World War II, Vu Cao Dam received monthly deliveries of five kilograms of rice in cardboard boxes, which he reused as supports for some of his works. The presence of this label thus provides valuable material evidence allowing us to date the work’s creation to between 1941 and 1946. We extend our warmest thanks to the artist’s family and to Léonard Lenorman for this valuable information.