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Lot Essay
JOSEPH INGUIMBERTY: L’ÉCHANGE AU VILLAGE (THE EXCHANGE IN THE VILLAGE) ,1927, AND LA MARE TONKINOISE (THE POND OF TONKIN), 1928, TWO BURSTS OF PURE TALENT
We cannot praise Joseph Inguimberty enough for his qualities, his talent, his generosity, his demanding integrity, and his devotion to Vietnamese culture.
He arrived in 1925 to teach at the Indochina School of Fine Arts (École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine) in Hanoi. He was immediately captivated by the beauty of the place and its people, a fascination that would permeate his work. This is particularly evident in our two paintings, created in the early years of his stay, which lasted until 1946.
Acquired directly from the artist by early and discerning collectors, the works still retain their original gilded wooden frames.
Inguimberty painted on linen canvases prepared with a hand-applied layer of white primer, a rare practice in the 1920s, when most artists purchased industrially prepared canvases. This meticulous preparation demonstrates the care with which he approached his materials.
The frames include a system of keys to tighten the canvas. This technique was a technique established in Europe by the late 17th century, suggesting that Inguimberty brought the practice with him to Vietnam.
In both compositions, the artist employs a deliberately limited palette. This choice reflects a clear intention to create intimacy and serenity, emphasizing atmosphere over narrative brilliance. It reinforces the meditative quality of the work.
Cool tones - blues of sky and water, greens of foliage - are enriched by nuanced grays, lending chromatic harmony and calm. This reduction of palette focuses attention on light and shadow, while contrasts of dazzling whites (roofs, sky, pond) and muted browns (figures, animals, vegetation) establish a delicate balance.
Through these chromatic tensions - light and dark, cool and warm - Inguimberty establishes a subtle dynamic. Rather than disrupting harmony, it enhances its delicate equilibrium. In later works, Inguimberty later amplified this contrast technique, particularly through brighter whites.
Finally, Inguimberty paints with both flat colours and texture. He handles his subjects with juxtaposed areas of a single hue, varied in lightness, but rarely blended to form shadows or highlights. He begins with a base tone, returning to it with shadows or highlights.
Broad brushes establish figures and tonal planes, while the palette knife shapes the paint’s substance.
Every element - houses, trees, ponds, people, animals, baskets, tools - emerges from the attentive gaze of an artist who observed with precision and loved with passion.
Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van, and Luong Xuan Nhi would all recall the master and his teachings in their own works.
Everything here is natural. Unlike in his later practice, when he sometimes employed posed sitters from Kim-Liên, these scenes are entirely uncontrived.
An aesthetic and emotional crystallization, these works, created in 1927 and 1928, stand as two bursts of pure talent.
Jean-François Hubert
Senior Expert, Art of Vietnam
We cannot praise Joseph Inguimberty enough for his qualities, his talent, his generosity, his demanding integrity, and his devotion to Vietnamese culture.
He arrived in 1925 to teach at the Indochina School of Fine Arts (École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine) in Hanoi. He was immediately captivated by the beauty of the place and its people, a fascination that would permeate his work. This is particularly evident in our two paintings, created in the early years of his stay, which lasted until 1946.
Acquired directly from the artist by early and discerning collectors, the works still retain their original gilded wooden frames.
Inguimberty painted on linen canvases prepared with a hand-applied layer of white primer, a rare practice in the 1920s, when most artists purchased industrially prepared canvases. This meticulous preparation demonstrates the care with which he approached his materials.
The frames include a system of keys to tighten the canvas. This technique was a technique established in Europe by the late 17th century, suggesting that Inguimberty brought the practice with him to Vietnam.
In both compositions, the artist employs a deliberately limited palette. This choice reflects a clear intention to create intimacy and serenity, emphasizing atmosphere over narrative brilliance. It reinforces the meditative quality of the work.
Cool tones - blues of sky and water, greens of foliage - are enriched by nuanced grays, lending chromatic harmony and calm. This reduction of palette focuses attention on light and shadow, while contrasts of dazzling whites (roofs, sky, pond) and muted browns (figures, animals, vegetation) establish a delicate balance.
Through these chromatic tensions - light and dark, cool and warm - Inguimberty establishes a subtle dynamic. Rather than disrupting harmony, it enhances its delicate equilibrium. In later works, Inguimberty later amplified this contrast technique, particularly through brighter whites.
Finally, Inguimberty paints with both flat colours and texture. He handles his subjects with juxtaposed areas of a single hue, varied in lightness, but rarely blended to form shadows or highlights. He begins with a base tone, returning to it with shadows or highlights.
Broad brushes establish figures and tonal planes, while the palette knife shapes the paint’s substance.
Every element - houses, trees, ponds, people, animals, baskets, tools - emerges from the attentive gaze of an artist who observed with precision and loved with passion.
Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van, and Luong Xuan Nhi would all recall the master and his teachings in their own works.
Everything here is natural. Unlike in his later practice, when he sometimes employed posed sitters from Kim-Liên, these scenes are entirely uncontrived.
An aesthetic and emotional crystallization, these works, created in 1927 and 1928, stand as two bursts of pure talent.
Jean-François Hubert
Senior Expert, Art of Vietnam