Tran Duy (1920-2014) - Trăng Và Tre - The Moon And The Bamboo - 1985

Ink and watercolor on silk, titled "Trăng và Tre" ("The Moon and the Bamboo").
42 × 30 cm unframed, 58 x 49 cm framed. Handwritten signature "Trần Duy 85" lower right, red stamp (artist's seal, "Hà Nội"), handwritten title Trăng và Tre.

Private collection of a French agricultural engineer on assignment in Vietnam in the 1980s, who acquired the work directly during his stay in Hanoi.

Good overall condition. Slight, even discoloration, typical of silk works from this period. No visible tears or creases. Period frame (gilded wood in the style of bamboo), light fabric mat.

Trần Duy trained at the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine (ÉBAI) in Hanoi, in the preparatory class of 1945. He is recognized as one of the major Vietnamese artists of the 20th century, particularly for his ink-on-silk works.

Trần Duy worked in several techniques: oil on canvas, drawing, engraving, but he is especially appreciated for his "ink-on-silk" works. His work is inspired by Vietnamese tradition but also by the contributions of the Western training he received at the ÉBAI (for example, the influence of professors like Joseph Inguimberty). Frequent themes include Vietnamese landscapes, pagodas, scenes of daily life, and the harmony between man and nature.

Trần Duy is an example of an artist who successfully combined an education in the colonial-era academy. (ÉBAI) with roots in Vietnamese tradition. His work contributes to what is sometimes called "modern Vietnamese painting"—that is, art that blends local tradition and modernity, colonial and post-colonial schools.