La jeune Tonkinoise nue (the naked Tonkinese girl)

Alix Ayme most probably painted the present work in 1920s when she was the drawing teacher at the Lycee Albert-Sarraut (Hanoi). Nude works were considered most scandalous by the conservative Vietnamese society particularly if the sitter is an Asian woman painted by a female artist. Being an art teacher would also have intensified the controversy and hence the artist did not usually sign her nude works from that particular period.