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Lot Essay
Born in Marseille, France in 1896, Joseph Inguimberty was admitted to the Ecole Nationale Supèrieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris in 1913 where he received a strong foundation in both Classical as well as Modern styles of painting. Like many others in his generation, Inguimberty’s education was disrupted by the First World War, in which he conscripted and was subsequently wounded. Unsurprisingly, these events came to shape Inguimberty’s world view as he embarked on a period of travel and exploration following the events of the war, perhaps in an idealistic search for the varying expressions of beauty, and how best to capture them through his art.
In 1924, a travel bursary enabled Inguimberty to visit Italy, Greece, and Egypt, where he expanded his knowledge of the development the Ancient and Classical arts. It was in this very year that the Ecole des Beaux Arts de l’Indochine opened in Hanoi, Vietnam, under the direction of his compatriot Victor Tardieu. Inguimberty proceeded to apply for a teaching position at the new school, and was assigned the post of Professor of Decorative Arts. The opportunity marked the beginning of a long love affair between the artist and his adopted country of Vietnam. During his stay, he sought to immerse himself in the local culture and customs, and was also an enthusiastic proponent of the distinctive local art form of lacquer painting. His tireless inquisition into the minutiae of Vientamese life, coupled with his technical proficiency and charisma in teaching Western techniques of oil and perspective left a lasting impression on his students.
Inguimberty’s legacy as an artist and teacher can be read most clearly in the generation of Vietnamese artists whom he inspired. The success of the key first generation of Vientamese artists such as Mai Trung Thu, Le Pho, Nguyen Phan Chanh, To Ngoc Van, Vu Cao Dam, Nguyen Gia Tri, Bui Xuan Phai, and Nguyen Tu Nghiem among others, are a testament to Inguimberty’s importance in a consideration of Vietnam’s fascinating history of artistic development.
Inguimberty’s compositions are depictions of local scenes and Vietnamese people lifted from reality, but filtered through a sensitive awareness of colour and sophistication of technique.
Rice Field (Lot 312) presents an iconic landscape of Vietnam, providing a distant view of the pleasing geometric regularity of the rice fields. Composed with the artist’s favourite tones of earthy browns and deep shades of green, the work serves as a window into a peaceful pastoral existence. Two Vietnamese Girls in a Landscape (Lot 313) and Réunion De Femmes (Gathering Of The Ladies) (Lot 313) executed in the artist’s characteristically thick layers of paint are unabashedly romanticised representations of the Vietnamese woman, and are early iterations of the later development of a distinctive Vietnamese female figure-type with flowing traditional Ao Dais, neatly knotted hair and elegant postures.
An examination of archival photographs which the artist used as reference while painting reveal the remarkable accuracy in which he painted his scenes. Beyond realist representation however, it is Inguimberty’s ability to distil the essential qualities of his subjects that distinguish Inguimberty as one of the most important of the foreign artists who dedicated their lives to the representation of the irrepressible elegance and beauty of Vietnam’s people and culture.
In 1924, a travel bursary enabled Inguimberty to visit Italy, Greece, and Egypt, where he expanded his knowledge of the development the Ancient and Classical arts. It was in this very year that the Ecole des Beaux Arts de l’Indochine opened in Hanoi, Vietnam, under the direction of his compatriot Victor Tardieu. Inguimberty proceeded to apply for a teaching position at the new school, and was assigned the post of Professor of Decorative Arts. The opportunity marked the beginning of a long love affair between the artist and his adopted country of Vietnam. During his stay, he sought to immerse himself in the local culture and customs, and was also an enthusiastic proponent of the distinctive local art form of lacquer painting. His tireless inquisition into the minutiae of Vientamese life, coupled with his technical proficiency and charisma in teaching Western techniques of oil and perspective left a lasting impression on his students.
Inguimberty’s legacy as an artist and teacher can be read most clearly in the generation of Vietnamese artists whom he inspired. The success of the key first generation of Vientamese artists such as Mai Trung Thu, Le Pho, Nguyen Phan Chanh, To Ngoc Van, Vu Cao Dam, Nguyen Gia Tri, Bui Xuan Phai, and Nguyen Tu Nghiem among others, are a testament to Inguimberty’s importance in a consideration of Vietnam’s fascinating history of artistic development.
Inguimberty’s compositions are depictions of local scenes and Vietnamese people lifted from reality, but filtered through a sensitive awareness of colour and sophistication of technique.
Rice Field (Lot 312) presents an iconic landscape of Vietnam, providing a distant view of the pleasing geometric regularity of the rice fields. Composed with the artist’s favourite tones of earthy browns and deep shades of green, the work serves as a window into a peaceful pastoral existence. Two Vietnamese Girls in a Landscape (Lot 313) and Réunion De Femmes (Gathering Of The Ladies) (Lot 313) executed in the artist’s characteristically thick layers of paint are unabashedly romanticised representations of the Vietnamese woman, and are early iterations of the later development of a distinctive Vietnamese female figure-type with flowing traditional Ao Dais, neatly knotted hair and elegant postures.
An examination of archival photographs which the artist used as reference while painting reveal the remarkable accuracy in which he painted his scenes. Beyond realist representation however, it is Inguimberty’s ability to distil the essential qualities of his subjects that distinguish Inguimberty as one of the most important of the foreign artists who dedicated their lives to the representation of the irrepressible elegance and beauty of Vietnam’s people and culture.