Provenance: León Gallery, The Magnificent September Auction, Makati City,
11 September 2021, Lot 71

ABOUT THE WORK

The French-Vietnamese painter Le Pho is best known for his sublime depictions of gardens and floral still lifes. Influenced by French artists Odilon Redon and Pierre Bonnard, Le Pho consolidated Impressionism, Surrealism, and traditional Chinese painting into a style that exudes an idyllic and ethereal allure. Belonging to his "Findlay Period (1963 – 2001)," this piece embodies Le's venture into a freshly colored palette, vibrant compositions, and strong brush strokes on oil on canvas which became his preferred medium. When asked by Christie's senior Vietnamese consultant Jean-Francois Hubert regarding his preferred period, Le immediately answered, "My Findlay period!" The genuineness he demonstrated in his art during this period resulted in a golden period in Le's artistic career. His reputation as an artist also heightened drastically during this time, with numerous patrons asking for art commissions. The versatility and brilliance manifested by Le in this era became a testament to his artistic vision and virtuosity. In Le's art, one can see the expressive unification of his Oriental and Occidental artistic heritage. The richness of the two cultures makes a striking impression on the spectator without being subdued with a sense of distorted charm. As described in the French regional daily newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, Le's still lifes are "true portraits of flowers opening under an irresistible luminosity." (A.M.)