Victor Tardieu (France, 1870-1937) in his residence, Hanoi, circa 1928.

The most beautiful epics are always the result of chance and necessity.  Tardieu is no exception to the rule.

When he arrives in Hanoi on 2 February 1921, a 50-year-old man who, the previous year, just received the Prix de l’Indochine. This Prize was the gift of a return trip from France to Vietnam taking care of all expenses throughout Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) with accommodation guaranteed. In return, he had to use these months of studies to present to France a body of work showing all these countries.

At that time he was a well-known painter in France who specialized – at first – in stained glass design for churches and public monuments. Eighteen years earlier, he received the Prix National for his large work (4,05m x4,80m) representing a team of workers on a building site. During the year 1914-1918, he courageously fought in the war, where he became a camouflage expert.