Thuc Doan

October 29, 2022 Archive, Documentaries

In Hanoi in 1943, Nguyen Gia Tri met a highly regarded art critic, Claude Manoudeau, during the Salon Unique where the top artists of the time were selected to exhibit. The review of the exhibition by Claude Mahoudeau captured the strong impression that Nguyen Gia Tri made: “Here at the front of the room are the lacquers of Mr Nguyen-Gia-Tri.”

We have the good fortune to come across a passage written by the Goncourt brothers that could well have been for these lacquers: “He has redefined grace…, this grace is the little something that clothes a woman of charm, of coquetry, of a beauty beyond physical beauty. This grace is a subtlety that resembles the smile of a line, the soul of a form, the spirituality of an object. All the seductions of the female at ease, the langour, the idleness, the strut, the lengthening, the nonchalance, the cadence of the poses, the suppleness of the feminine body and the play of the slender fingers on the grip of the fans.”

There is nothing left to do but admire the creations of an artist whose contribution to this exhibition is considerable. The artist’s works dazzled everyone. Claude Mahoudeau and Nguyen Gia Trí’s friendship continued to blossom. The relationship deepens in companionship.

Indochine, Salon Unique 1943, Issue No. 171, 9 October 1943, featuring a drawing by Nguyen Tuong Lan (Vietnam, 1906-1946) on the cover page.

Nguyen Tuong Lan Publication Salon Salon Unique 1943